One of the most intriguing results from Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season came out of New Orleans. New Orleans Saints Hosted an NFC South rival Carolina PanthersBut the game appeared to be over shortly after the kickoff. New Orleans scored a touchdown early in the game and then the Saints got a field goal after Bryce Young was intercepted on Carolina's first drive of the year to take an early 10-0 lead.
They never looked back, outscoring Carolina 47-10.
But Week 1 of the NFL season can be the ultimate smokescreen. Results from Week 1 of the NFL season can provoke incredible overreactions, but it often takes a game or two to really understand a team. The Saints travel to Dallas to face a team that is 1-0. Dallas Cowboyswe were sure we would find out more about both teams on Sunday.
Yes I did.
The Saints dominated their opponents for the second straight week, and the third week going back to the end of the 2023 season. New Orleans took the lead on Sunday against Dallas and never looked back, beating the Cowboys 44-19. They fell three points short of becoming just the third team in NFL history to score 47 or more points in three straight games, but they accomplished something bigger.
They sent a warning to the rest of the league.
New Orleans drove down the field on its first possession of the game Sunday. Carr completed 3 of 3 passes, including a 39-yard connection with Chris Olave on his third completion, and Alvin Kamara capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
A key element of the touchdown was a lead block by fullback Adam Prentiss, who faced linebacker Damone Clark in the hole. Kamara cut inside off the block and the Saints were in the end zone.
After the Dallas field goal, the Saints quickly went on the scoreboard, taking New Orleans seven plays to reach the end zone on their first drive and just one on their second.
Carr to Rashid Shahid, 70 yards:
As you can see from this end zone angle, Carr does a great job of sliding in the pocket to avoid late pressure: The Cowboys have two safeties deep, but Shahid is able to slip out over the top of the coverage and, as Tom Brady explains, Carr just drops a dime.
Dallas tried for a field goal again on their next drive, but New Orleans answered with a win.
Third touchdown in the afternoon.
This touchdown pass was a perfect screen pass to Kamara, not a deep shot downfield, even though it covered 57 yards. With the Saints facing 2nd-and-7, Carr carries a play-action fake to Kamara, who sets up in the pocket to look deep downfield. But the design is a screen to Kamara, who receives a short throw from Carr in front of the blocker. The Saints running back picks up Lucas Patrick's block on Eric Kendricks and goes to the races.
Kamara scored his third touchdown of the day on a 12-yard touchdown run on the Saints' next possession.
The big block on this play? Again, it was by Patrick, as the left guard went up to the second level, tackled DeMarvion Overshown, pushed past the Dallas linebacker and allowed Kamara to outrun the Dallas secondary and cut into the end zone for a 28-13 Saints lead.
Dak Prescott threw an interception on the Cowboys' next possession, and Carr scored a touchdown from 1 yard out on a quarterback sneak on the Saints' ensuing possession to start the blowout victory.
By the end of the game, Carr had thrown two touchdown passes, Kamara had rushed for over 100 yards and four total touchdowns, and the Saints had scored on seven of their nine possessions in the game and 16 of their 20 possessions this season, excluding the game's final drive when the reserves ran out the clock.
And perhaps most notably, the Saints were 2-0.
Before the season began, New Orleans was one of the most disruptive teams in the NFL, and we had them ranked 26th at the start of the season. Here's what I wrote about the Saints in my preseason article:
A year ago, many people, including myself, looked at the New Orleans Saints and immediately assumed they would win the NFC South. While the other three teams in the division faced interesting quarterback situations with Atlanta going with Desmond Ridder, Tampa Bay with Baker Mayfield, and Carolina with Bryce Young, New Orleans seemed to be in the most secure position at the game's most important position with the addition of Derek Carr.
That's all for now.
Now, Kerr is hoping to get his 2023 commitments back, thanks to a pretty favorable schedule that includes some upset teams. Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas RaidersThe Saints were certainly able to fulfill that promise.
But would we bet on that? Absolutely not. There are still plenty of questions about this roster, mainly centered around an injury-plagued offensive line. Plus, after last year, are any of us really convinced that Carr is the answer at QB?
We may have an answer in two weeks.
