5 surprising positives from the Panthers victory vs. Saints in Week 3

What were some surprising positives for the Carolina Panthers as they ended a nine-game losing streak against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3?

It feels nice for once to be talking about a Carolina Panthers win. And it’s even sweeter when it comes against an NFC South rival.

For the first time in 371 days, the Panthers won in front of their home fans against the New Orleans Saints. As in the 2021 season, this win was built on stifling defense and giving quarterback Jameis Winston a torrid time from start to finish.

After going through the first two games without a turnover, the Panthers rectified that by forcing three on Sunday. This was the defense that fans expected to see to start the season with defensive coordinator Phil Snow dialing up a lot of blitzes – something the Saints offense couldn’t deal with.

While the passing game continues to struggle as Baker Mayfield navigates a new offense, we at least saw Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey notch back-to-back 100-yard rushing games.

Mayfield would be wise to try and get the former Stanford star involved in the passing game more often. Although the onus also falls on Ben McAdoo to scheme things up more effectively for the likes of McCaffrey and D.J. Moore moving forward.

Without further ado, here are five surprising positives that emerged from Carolina’s pivotal triumph over the Saints.