Alvin Kamara scored on a 16-yard rush in the fourth quarter as New Orleans Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 12-9 and took a big step toward locking up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs..
The Saints, who how have the league's best record at 12-2, went down early as the Panthers opted not to punt on fourth down and instead Christian McCaffrey found Chris Manhertz for a 50-yard score.
Wil Lutz was true with the boot from 46 and 24 yards as the Saints went into halftime 7-6 down.
But Kamara put on the jets and was able to get good blocking as he found the end zone with 12 minutes left to play.
The attempted two-point conversion failed, with Drew Brees intercepted by Donte Jackson and returned for two.
But a late drive from the Panthers was halted as Cam Newton's attempt to Ian Thomas fell short on fourth down as the Saints took the win.
The Saints' defence, which has been among the best in the league the last six weeks, held former MVP to 131 yards passing, sacked him four times and forced two turnovers.
New Orleans limited Carolina (6-8) to 247 yards and 13 first downs as Newton struggled throwing the ball more than 10 yards down the field with a sore right shoulder.
The Panthers have lost six straight and are all but eliminated from play-off contention. They're behind the Vikings, Eagles and Redskins for the second NFC wild card spot with two games remaining.
The Saints took a one-game lead in the NFC over the Rams and close the season at home against Pittsburgh and Carolina.
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