Carolina Panthers 26 New Orleans Saints 31: Drew Brees leads his team over Cam Newton to set up meeting against the Minnesota Vikings

DREW BREES was at his imperious best as the New Orleans Saints beat their rival Carolina Panthers in the Wildcard round.

A 31-26 win in the Superdome means Brees and Co progress to meet the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday.

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The veteran quarterback, 38, was almost perfect as he threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns.

On an evening where the Carolina Panthers completely shut down star running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram (45 yards combined), Brees took control.

In the first half he led the team to scores on three straight drives, throwing a beautiful 80-yard bomb to Ted Ginn for the first score.

On his next drive he masterfully crafted his way down the field before a fade route to Jeremy Hill caught the Panthers sleeping.

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Cam Newton say his team fail to take opportunities against the Saints[/caption]

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Zach Line celebrates after running in the first touchdown of his pro career[/caption]

When Zach Line dived in from close (the first touchdown of his professional career) to make it 21-9 at half-time, the game appeared over.

Brees consistently found his targets with Michael Thomas shining to haul in eight catches for 131 yards.

But the Panthers refused to give up.

Cam Newton threw a fourth quarter strike to Greg Olsen, only for Alvin Kamara to respond again, and another to Christian McCaffrey – a beautiful 56-yard touchdown that saw the rookie blaze a trail into the endzone.

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Graham Gano missed an early kick that may have changed the game[/caption]

With two minutes left in the game, the Saints nearly threw it away.

The home side were on midfield at fourth and two at first tried to draw the visitors offside – it didn’t work and they burned a touchdown.

It appeared as if they would punt, head coach Sean Payton inexplicably decided to go for it.

Brees was then intercepted to leave the Panthers a small chance – two minutes and zero timeouts.

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Greg Olsen celebrates scoring a fourth quarter touchdown for the Panthers[/caption]

Three quick completions saw them march to the 26-yard line and in striking range.

But Newton was first called for a controversial grounding call, that took the Panthers 20 yards away from the endzone, and then sacked to end the game.

It was a game of missed opportunities for the Panthers, who started out on top but saw a number of dropped catches and misfires when it mattered.

Caleb Clay dropped a sure touchdown in the first quarter and a play later Graham Gano – the most accurate kicker in the NFL this season – missed a chip shot from 25 yards.

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Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers are out of the play-offs[/caption]

If either of those had scored, the game may have been very different.

The Panthers continued to leave points on the field until the fourth quarter.

They took four trips to the redzone before scoring a touchdown, the other three ending in field goals.