2005 Week 1 · Sun, Sep 11, 2005 · Bank of America Stadium
New Orleans SaintsWinner
23
at
Carolina Panthers
20
CAR -6.5 upsetU 45.5 ✓15 mph wind
New Orleans Saints 23–20 — decided on the final possessions. Played in 15 mph wind — weigh that when reading the passing lines.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Full stat lines
Box score
New Orleans Saints
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Brooks | 18/24 | 192 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.6 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deuce McAllister | 26 | 64 | 2.5 | 2 | -1.5 |
| Aaron Brooks | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 0 | 2.5 |
| Aaron Stecker | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | -0.7 |
| Antowain Smith | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | 0 | -1.4 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtney Watson | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fakhir Brown | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Young | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Smith | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Grant | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colby Bockwoldt | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Smith | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Craft | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Willie Whitehead | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Allen | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Carolina Panthers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Delhomme | 19/31 | 212 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.4 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Davis | 13 | 81 | 6.2 | 1 | 4.1 |
| DeShaun Foster | 9 | 41 | 4.6 | 0 | -0.6 |
| Jake Delhomme | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Nick Goings | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | -0.2 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Witherspoon | 9 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Gamble | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Julius Peppers | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brentson Buckner | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Davis | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Morgan | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Lucas | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ricky Manning | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Short | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Rucker | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- CAR -6.5
- Closing total
- 45.5
- NO moneyline
- —
- CAR moneyline
- —
Panthers closed -6.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 45.5; the game landed 43 — under by 2.5.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Bank of America Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · grass
- Kickoff weather
- 79°F, wind 15 mph
- Referee
- Tom White
- Rest
- NO 7 days · CAR 7 days
- Coaches
- Jim Haslett vs John Fox
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.
Wind at 15 mph is the kind that drags passing depth and kicking range — weigh it when reading the splits.