<P> Carolina defeated New Orleans on the road every year from 2002 to 2008, a streak of seven seasons . Notable games include Carolina's 19--7 home victory in 1996 that sparked Saints head coach Jim Mora's infamous "Diddley Poo" rant and resignation from the team, Carolina's 10--6 win in the 2002 season finale at the Superdome to knock the Saints out of the playoffs, and the emotional 2005 season opener at Carolina where the Saints won 23--20 in the face of Hurricane Katrina and an eventual 3--13 season . After the bounty scandal broke, it was revealed that the Saints had deliberately targeted Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton . </P> <P> In their last game in the 2014 NFL season, a fight between the players broke out in the end zone and spilled out into the tunnel entrance after a Cam Newton touchdown, with Panther's tight end Brandon Williams getting ejected and both teams receiving offsetting penalties . The Panthers won the contest 41--10, with early turnovers by the Saints being a factor in the blowout . </P> <P> On January 7, 2018 the two teams met in the NFL Playoffs for the first time . The Saints beat Carolina, 31 - 26, in the Wild Card round thus eliminating Carolina . </P> <P> The New Orleans Saints' rivalry with NFC counterparts Dallas Cowboys is more of a regional rivalry rather than a divisional one as the two franchises have never competed in the same division since the last time both clubs were in the same division, in 1969, as a part of the NFL Capital Division, before the AFL--NFL merger in 1970 . Their fanbases overlap in parts of northern Louisiana, such as the Shreveport--Bossier City metropolitan area which borders the state of Texas . </P>

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