CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The New Orleans Saints will have to wait another week for a chance to clinch a playoff spot. It will be their last chance. The Saints needed a win over the Panthers to wrap up the NFC South and a first-round bye. Or, at the very least, an Arizona loss to clinch a playoff spot. They got neither. Instead, the Saints headed back to the Big Easy knowing they will need to beat Tampa Bay next week to qualify for the post-season following a 17-13 loss at Carolina on Sunday. They can also qualify if Arizona loses or San Francisco loses twice. "Right now just trying to take this, because its obviously tough with so much on the line for us personally," Saints tight end Jimmy Graham said. "... Obviously we have to play better and we just have to finish. When you are up like that you want to win those tight ones. When you want to get into the playoffs you cant lose those." Drew Brees called the loss "painful," but said the key is to take from the positives. "Its all out there in front of us," Brees said. "Obviously, we need some help in order to win the division and be the two seed, but the fact of the matter is all we can worry about is what is ahead of us." Carolina (11-4) can wrap up the NFC South and a first-round bye in the playoffs with a win next Sunday at Atlanta. The Saints would win the division if they beat the Buccaneers and Carolina loses to the Falcons. The manner in which the Saints lost was particularly tough. Cam Newton, who had struggled all afternoon, threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon with 23 seconds left to get the Panthers their first playoff berth since 2008 before more than 70,000 rain-drenched fans. Newton had been limited to 116 yards passing in the games 59 minutes. But the defence, dominant all day, gave him one last chance to win by forcing the Saints to go three-and-out. Newton took over at the Carolina 35 trailing 13-10 with 55 seconds left, no timeouts, a sore ankle and his best receiver, Steve Smith, on the sideline with a knee injury. He dug in and completed a 37-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr. to quickly get the Panthers in field goal range. Then he connected with Greg Olsen for 14 yard. After Newton spiked the ball, Hixon made a diving catch in the left side of the end zone, cradling the ball in his chest after beating cornerback Corey White. The catch set off a huge celebration that left the stadium shaking. "I was 99 per cent sure it was a catch," Hixon said with a grin. The seldom-used Hixon came into the game with just three catches for 21 yards on the season. "Cam was very resilient," coach Ron Rivera said. "He struggled all day and he knows that. But he came through when we needed him." Carolinas defence kept the team in the game while the offence struggled, intercepting Brees twice and sacking him six times to avenge a 31-13 loss two weeks ago. Middle linebacker Luke Kuechly had 24 tackles — tying an NFL record, according to STATS — and an interception while building his case for Defensive Player of the Year, and Greg Hardy had three sacks going up against rookie left tackle Terron Armstead. "Theyre a good pass-rushing team," Brees said. "They did a good job of applying the pressure at times. They did a good job of covering some things downfield when we were trying to push the ball downfield. Maybe the result of that ended up being having to hold the ball a little bit longer and take sacks." New Orleans took the lead with 6:37 left after Brees drove his team 97 yards in 11 plays, connecting on a 5-yard pass to Graham on a jump ball in the end zone. Graham caught three passes for 62 yards, including a 46-yard reception, on the series. NOTES: Smith injured a knee ligament and he will need an MRI on Monday. He injured the knee in the first quarter then tried to return in the second but couldnt run on it. ... The Saints lost safety Kenny Vaccaro for the game in the second quarter when he was carted off with a left lower leg injury. Hydro Flask Sverige . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. Hydro Flask Kaffe .com) - The surging Montreal Canadiens will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Florida Panthers for Saturdays clash at BB&T Center. http://www.hydroflasksverige.se/hydro-fl.../24-oz.html.com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. Hydro Flask 40 Oz Sverige .com) - James Harden needed just seven made field goals to drop 35 points on the Philadelphia 76ers, leading the Houston Rockets to a 104-93 win on Monday. Hydro Flask Barn .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself.LONDON -- The World Match Play Championship is returning to England for its 50th anniversary this year. Organizers said on Wednesday it will be hosted Oct. 15-19 by the London Golf Club at Ash in the southeast county of Kent. Until 2009, the event had been played at Wentworth before moving to Spain, and then to Bulgaria in 2013. Arnold Palmer won the inaugural championship, in 1964. This years event will feature a 16-man field with prize money of (euro)2.25 million ($3 million). Competitors will be split into four groups of four, with the top two players from eeach group advancing to the knockout phase.dddddddddddd "It seems right though to celebrate the Championships anniversary in England, where the tournament was held for so many years," said reigning champion Graeme McDowell. "Im very much looking forward to defending my title there in October." The field will also include Race to Dubai winner Henrik Stenson, who has already qualified and confirmed he will be playing. "I really enjoy the match play format," said Stenson, the 2013 European golfer of the year. ' ' '