Even though they were going in an opposite direction, the 2014 Carolina Panthers kept claiming they could go on a win streak.
They said it after turning a three-game skid into four at Philadelphia. Losses to the Falcons and Vikings didn’t dissuade them, either. Despite earning no wins in two months, the Panthers continued to say they could rattle off a bunch of wins.
Shoot, instead of talking about multiple wins, don't you need to start with one?
A year ago this Sunday, they did.
"We were so close. We went through an awful lot, had a lot of things to overcome. Crazy things kept happening, and we kept saying, ‘Gosh, it's right there in front of us. At some point, we're going to take advantage of it.'"
With most expecting the Saints to drop the Panthers to 3-9-1, the day began with a win on the opening coin toss. In a rare move for Rivera, he elected to receive.
His offense responded with a 7-play, 80-yard drive capped off by a 9-yard touchdown pass from QB Cam Newton to WR Kelvin Benjamin.
"It kind of started this whole past year of success. That opening drive, that was kind of our breakout moment, sort of speak, to kind of put us on this run that we're on."
On the Saints' second play from scrimmage, CB Josh Norman forced RB Mark Ingram to fumble.
"I just went up there and tried to make a play. Low and behold, I saw an opportunity. When I went to go tackle and shoot my hands, the ball came out and that set the tone. We started ripping them off from there, one after another."
After the Panthers had settled for a field goal, the defense came up with another takeaway on the Saints' next play.
Injected into the lineup for the first time, a pair of rookies teamed up for an interception.
"[Safety] Tre [Boston] was supposed to be underneath and I was supposed to be running with the guy. Tre elevated the throw just enough for me to get it. He tried to get his hand up to see if he could make the play, but it went just over his head, and I was able to get in front of the receiver and take the ball from him."
"They were beat by Minnesota the week before and hadn’t looked very good. They changed some defensive personnel and just started doing some new things and started playing really, really well."
Three minutes later, Newton went over the top for a 2-yard touchdown.
"I don't necessarily think anything really clicked more so than guys understanding their responsibility and mastering it."
As Carolina's QB celebrated, Saints LB Curtis Lofton took offense. That started a scrum that led to an ejection for TE Brandon Williams.
It was 11 months before Newton dabbed in Tennessee.
"That one little moment brought a lot of guys together. It's something that just happens, and when you know, you know, cause you feel it. It's not something that you question, it's not something that you coach, it's not something that you talk about. It's something that just happens."
After taking a 24-3 lead into the half, it took just one play for the Panthers to extend that advantage. Off went RB Jonathan Stewart on a career-long 69-yard scoring sprint.
"[Seeing the field open up] is like a dog seeing a squirrel, I guess. You just get real excited and turn on the burners."
Shortly after Stewart crossed the goal line, a disgruntled Saints fan tossed a beer bottle from the upper deck, nearly hitting an official.
"When I saw that dude that dude throw the beer, that was the first time I'd seen that, and I'd played a lot of games down there."
"At first it was loud and then we started putting up points, and that's when it got quiet."
"The place was half empty. It felt good, man."
While handing the Saints their worst home loss in 11 seasons, the Panthers piled up 497 total yards. 271 of those came on the ground. Each were the third-most in team history.
A full calendar year later, Carolina still hasn't lost a regular-season game. 15 straight regular-season wins equals the longest streak by an NFC team since the 1970 merger. The other teams that won as many in succession – the 2010-11 Packers and 1989-90 49ers – also won Super Bowls.
"That really propelled us to the next level because we started to reap what we had sewn. We started to see the results that we had hoped to get."
"It was rewarding to finally get a big win because whether you win or lose, you still work as hard throughout the week. It was nice that we, as a team, played well together and since then, that's been what's good for us."
"It had been frustrating that we had kind of pieced things together and it hadn't been good enough prior to that. Losing is frustrating, so it was a good feeling that we were able to put four quarters together and come out with a win."
"I really felt we had the type of leadership in that locker room to keep pushing. We just needed something good to happen, and sure enough, it did."