鈥?Saints All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan grinned playfully as he glanced up at a bottle of red wine in the top shelf of his locker and asked if anyone knew Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s address.A bottle with the name “Jordan” on the label 鈥?even if it isn’t made by the Saints star’s family 鈥?might be the last thing Newton wants right now.Drew Brees and his receiving corps came through when Carolina stifled New Orleans’ prolific backfield Jeff Heath Jersey , and a relentless Jordan spearheaded a late defensive stand to seal a 31-26 an NFC wild-card round victory on Sunday.“You can’t be more happy about the way we played in terms of how we finished the game,” Jordan said. “We almost let them back in the game, but here I am standing as winner. Here I am, as a Cam Jordan, sending Cam Newton a bottle of Jordan wine.”Brees passed for 376 yards and two touchdowns, but one more completion would have considerably lowered the stress level on the Saints’ sideline. Coach Sean Payton kept the offense on the field on fourth-and-short with two minutes remaining and Carolina out of timeouts, hoping for one more first down that would have allowed New Orleans to run out the clock.But Brees couldn’t find an open receiver, was flushed out of the pocket and decided his best option was to throw it up for grabs. It was intercepted by safety Mike Adams, which turned out better for New Orleans than an incompletion because it meant the Panthers had to start from their own 31 instead of mid-field.Still, Newton completed three straight passes to move the Panthers to the Saints 26-yard line with 58 seconds left before New Orleans’ resistance stiffened.“I’m frustrated,” Newton said. “I hate that I couldn’t do enough to get a win today for a lot of guys that I think so highly of.“I just have to be better,” he added. “I’m not going to take the cowardly way and point somebody else out.”The comeback bid began to fizzle when Jordan induced an intentional grounding penalty on Newton, making it third-and-25 on the Saints 34 and a requiring 10-second runoff that left 20 seconds on the clock.After an incompletion in the end zone, Vonn Bell sacked Newton on a safety blitz , ensuring the Saints (12-5) swept all three meetings with Carolina (11-6) this season, in addition to winning the first postseason game they’ve played in four seasons.“The coaches wanted to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands fast,” Bell said. “They dialed it up and I said, ‘Go make a play.'”Brees’ touchdowns went for 80-yards to Ted Ginn and 9 yards to tight end Josh Hill. Fullback Zach line and running back Alvin Kamara each ran for short touchdowns Domata Peko Jersey , the latter set up by Michael Thomas’ 46-yard reception .“What we’ve shown offensively is we have a lot of ways to be effective,” Brees said, mentioning clutch first-down catches by Brandon Coleman and Willie Snead in addition to the big plays by Ginn and Thomas. “The ball was spread around quite a bit and guys were making plays when they had the chances.”Thomas caught eight passes for 131 yards on a day when the Saints needed the passing game to compensate for a ground game that struggled to get going. Thomas said when he noticed the Panthers playing with one safety deep instead of their usual two, “you’re licking your chops with a quarterback like Drew Brees and the talent we have. We knew what we had to do and it was on the receivers.”Ginn, a former Panthers receiver, celebrated the sweep of his former team by holding up a broom in the locker room.MISSED OPPORTUNITIESHelped by the presence of tight end Greg Olsen 鈥?who did not play in the teams’ previous two meetings 鈥?Newton marched Carolina into Saints territory more often than not. But the Panthers stalled four times inside the New Orleans 25 in the first three quarters. They settled for four field goal attempts on those drives, one of which kicker Graham Gano surprisingly missed from 25-yards.Jordan called the Saints’ red-zone stops “huge.”“Had half of those been touchdowns, we’d be sitting in a different spot,” Jordan said.KEY STATSOlsen had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.Newton finished 24 of 40 passing for 349 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard scoring strike to Christian McCaffrey that pulled the Panthers within a touchdown with 4:09 left.Saints running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, who combined for more than 3,000 yards from scrimmage this season, were held to 68 total yards.RUSHING THE PASSSERNewton was sacked four times, once each by Bell, Jordan, Jonathan Freeney, and David Onyemata. The sack by Onyemata came as Newton tried to spin away from Tyeler Davison and slammed his head into Onyemata’s chest. Newton appeared to be checked for a concussion, but missed only one play before returning to the game on Carolina’s next possessionNewton sat on the field near the sideline after the play Terrance Williams Jersey , and while a new NFL rule calls for players to be taken to the locker room to be evaluated for concussions if they appear to be struggling to stand, Newton said part of his helmet got pushed into his eyelid. Panthers coach Ron Rivera offered a similar explanation and added that Newton only sat down to give backup Derek Anderson more time to warm up.The NFL said it planned to discuss the matter with the Panthers medical staff before commenting further.INJURIESPanthers: Cornerback Daryl Worley briefly was placed in the concussion protocol but also cleared to return during the game.Saints: Starting left guard Andrus Peat was carted off the field with a broken left fibula.UP NEXTPanthers: Begin the offseason after their fourth trip to the playoffs in five years lasted on game.Saints: Move on to play at Minnesota in the NFC Divisional playoffs. Speaking for the first time at the Patriots’ minicamp, Tom Brady could have had plenty to talk about had he waited a few hours.

Instead, reports broke later Thursday that one of the New England quarterback’s favorite receivers, Julian Edelman, could be suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancers policy.

Brady, who turns 41 on Aug. 3, said he never considered retirement during his time away from the team; he did not attend optional workouts. He was not available to address an ESPN report, using unnamed sources, that Edelman, who missed the 2017 season after tearing his right ACL in a preseason game in Detroit, is facing a four-game suspension.

Edelman was the last player on the field for practice and later could be seen having a long talk with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

According to the report, the 32-year-old Edelman is appealing the suspension, saying he had passed ”hundreds of tests” in the past. If the suspension stands, he would miss a home game against Houston, at Jacksonville and Detroit, and home against Miami.

The league does not release information on suspensions until they are announced.

Edelman spoke Tuesday and was asked if it was difficult not to push himself to make a faster recovery.

”Yeah, I mean Shawn Williams Jersey , everyone’s a competitor, so sometimes you’re your worst own enemy when you’re trying to do that,” he said. ”But it is what it is and there’s a big part of the process and I’ve got a lot of guys, training staff helping me out – TB12 (Brady), all that stuff – to get to where I want to be.”

The Patriots’ wide receiver group had already taken on a new look minus Danny Amendola (free agent, Miami) and Brandin Cooks (traded to Arizona). The loss of Edelman would thin the position even more. Malcolm Mitchell, who also missed last season with knee surgery, has yet to return to the field.

The depth chart candidates without Edelman would have one proven veteran in Chris Hogan, plus Mitchell, Kenny Britt, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jordan Matthews, Phillip Dorsett, Riley McCarron, Braxton Berrios and Cody Hollister. Special teams captain Matthew Slater has also lined up at the position, and Patterson generally is a kick returner rather than a wideout.

Brady spoke for less than four minutes.

”It’s obviously important for everybody and our coaches do a great job of getting us ready,” he said. ”Just some personal reasons for me (skipping voluntary workouts), but I’m here now and focused on what I need to do Chris Jones Jersey , like I always am, and this year.”

Amid reports of a rift in the organization involving himself, coach Bill Belichick and Kraft, Brady said his relationship with Belichick is, ”great. We’ve always had a great relationship.”

”I’ve been here for a long time and I love this team and I love this organization and I love playing quarterback for him,” Brady added. ”I loved it last year and I’m having a lot of fun now, so that’s obviously what’s most important to me.”

He refused to speak about any possible reworking of his contract.

”I’ve never talked about my contract,” he said. ”I’ve never brought up money, I think for a lot of reasons that I’ve said over the years. Those things are personal.”

Brady labeled his offseason following the Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia as ”good.”

”I always try to figure out different things I need to do in the offseason to prepare myself and be the best I can be,” he said. ”Obviously, I evaluate last season and things I can do better. I don’t think this offseason was any different for me. I thought about the things I need to do and focused on those things so I can be the best I can be when training camp comes.”

NOTES: Red Sox vice president Tony La Russa was a visitor at camp. ”We’ve been friends for a long time. It’s always good to see Tony,” said Belichick. . TE Dwayne Allen was clearly hobbling after practice. . Belichick stepped in and was mad at his offense, ordering the group to run a lap around the field. Brady, who could be heard yelling an obscenity after the previous play, then hit Rob Gronkowski with the next pass. . Matthews dropped a long throw from Brady. . Thursday was the third and final day of the mandatory camp, with four optional days set for next week.

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