What went wrong with the Panthers defense in their Week 15 loss to the Saints?

The Carolina Panthers may still control their own postseason destiny, but the path to their first division title in a decade got a little longer this past weekend.

Sunday's 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints was a mistake-riddled affair. Headlined by their 11 penalties, the Panthers looked far from sharp in their golden opportunity to capture sole possession of the NFC South.

What may have been most frustrating, even more so than the infractions, was the team's defensive performance to close out the game. The unit, despite being given a 10-point lead, was unable to stave off the Saints and left the door open for the disappointing defeat.

So, as we look into the All-22 film, let's try to figure out what went wrong defensively in Week 15—starting with the scheme.

Within the confines of a 3-4 front, outside linebackers are still “off-ball” in a sense. That requires the task of dropping into coverage on occasion, which may not always be an operable strategy.

This is why we see outside linebackers dropping into hook-curl, spot-drop or curl-flat shells to help mess with the eyes of the quarterback. But those looks can create a disadvantage at times, especially when some interior defensive linemen are asked to spot-drop as well.

We saw that on Sunday with the 320-pound Derrick Brown. (Not exactly optimal in a general sense.)

There were mental errors throughout the outing, some that weren’t obvious to the naked eye, that you’ll only see on tape. On a 15-yard scamper in the second quarter from running back Devin Neal, rookie edge rusher Nic Scourton went low on the pulling left guard instead of taking him head-on to break the rush lane.

While inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom secured his run fit, Trevin Wallace was out of position and became a block magnet. There is an argument that Scourton made the mistake of not setting the edge as a result.

Rookie mistake from Nic Scourton. With Wallace and Rozeboom in their run fits, NS11 has to set the edge against the pulling left guard.

Instead, he goes low w/ a feeble attempt at nagging the legs of Devin Neal, putting the secondary at a disadvantage. 15-yard run. #Pantherspic.twitter.com/QCDjLP8GhD— Jared Feinberg (new account :)) (@Jared_NFLDraft) December 15, 2025

Missed opportunities were a habit for the Panthers defense as well on Sunday.

There was the hot-potato ball on the long second-quarter drive, when cornerback Mike Jackson had an initial pass breakup before tight end Juwan Johnson corralled the rock. There was also a fumble caused by Jackson early in the second half, which Rozeboom failed to recover.

Those are plays that, if they go in a different direction, change the complexion of the game.

Mike Jackson was a lead player in the missed opportunities for the #Panthers defense yesterday—the PBU corral from Juwan Johnson and the forced fumble he created that the defense couldn't recover. There was also coverage reps where the throw/catch was just better. pic.twitter.com/0MeLgE0z7f— Jared Feinberg (new account :)) (@Jared_NFLDraft) December 15, 2025

We must, in addition, credit the game plan from New Orleans and head coach Kellen Moore—who had an impressive approach at the voids in Carolina’s defensive coverages and player tendencies.

For example, Rozeboom is an aggressive downhill linebacker who is a “see ball, get ball” player, and the Saints attacked that aggression with rollouts and trickery from quarterback Tyler Shough.

The Saints leaned on the quick motion and quick game underneath to chip away on long drives. They countered with middle-field attacks using the size of Johnson (6-foot-4, 231 pounds) and wideouts Devaughn Vele (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) and Kevin Austin Jr. (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) on two- or three-man concepts off under-center play action to counter defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s exotic blitzes and pressures out of condensed formations.

Given how much the Panthers play off-coverage, it was a great plan of attack from Moore.

In the next-to-final series for New Orleans, the Panthers' linebackers needed to play with better depth in their hook-curl drops. But their ineffectiveness caused the Saints to have success on deep in-breaking patterns.

On this first down at the Panthers' 32-yard line, the defense is in Cover 3 cloud, and we see Rozeboom playing his hook-curl shell like he is supposed to. But the stick on this stick-skinny post draws him away from the middle of the field, clearing the way for a 16-yard gain on this scoring drive.

Saints had a better gameplan offensively in the second half to counter a lot of what Evero was doing in coverage, plus countering w/ tempo.

More in a film review this week, but I think this stick pattern is an example of that. Rozeboom gets drawn to the stick, leaves MOF open. pic.twitter.com/ZhFrYn2R4z— Jared Feinberg (new account :)) (@Jared_NFLDraft) December 15, 2025

Overall, the Panthers defense underwhelmed in a crucial game. Their performance is even more disappointing when you consider the late-season circumstances.

Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.

This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: What went wrong with the Panthers defense in their Week 15 loss?