A Saint Is Redeemed

Donte Stallworth stood alone on the sideline with a look of defeat. He had just dropped another pass, this one in the end zone, and he was certain his quarterback would stop looking to him.

Instead, Aaron Brooks gave the rookie a pep talk, then culminated a 95-yard drive by completing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Stallworth with 31 seconds left for the go-ahead score Sunday in New Orleans Saints’ 34-24 victory over Carolina.

“He was feeling down, so I went over there and put my arm around him and told him not to worry about it,” Brooks said. “The more he tried to fight it, the worse it was going to get. So I told him to forget it, and I’d look for him again later.”

The touchdown put the Saints ahead, 27-24, and Charles Grant returned Rodney Peete’s fumble 34 yards for a score as time ran out. The Saints (7-2) matched their best start since 1992. Carolina (3-6) lost for the sixth consecutive time.

Bolstered by the return of Peete, the Panthers went ahead, 24-20, on a 15-yard touchdown pass play to Wesley Walls with 3:31 left.

The Saints started the next drive from their five, and it looked as if the Panthers could end the game after Reggie Howard intercepted a Brooks pass. But the play was negated when officials called Howard for a push-off, and the Saints kept moving.

Brooks found Stallworth for a 38-yard pass play to the Carolina 10 and two plays later they teamed up for the go-ahead score. “It’s frustrating when you’ve got the game and it gets put on the defense’s shoulders, and we don’t step up and respond,” Panther defensive end Julius Peppers said.