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NFC South power rankings, Week 2: Carolina Panthers hit rock bottom (again)

After a chaotic first slate of matchups, the 2024 season outlook is pretty bright for two teams, and pretty bleak for the other two.

By David Griffith

Dave Canales and Bryce Young
Dave Canales and Bryce Young / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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2. New Orleans Saints

  • Overreaction: Derek Carr can be that guy.

Pretty much everything possible went right for the New Orleans Saints in their home opener. They stifled the Carolina Panthers in all three phases of the field and put the game away in the first five minutes.

The offense was clicking, especially Alvin Kamara, who took 15 carries for 83 rushing yards, one touchdown, and seemed to run around at will out there. The defense picked off Panthers’ quarterback Bryce Young on his first attempt and did not let up, harassing him with a blur of secondary blitzes.

Special teams forced Panthers’ punter Johnny Hekker into several awkward and off-balance kicks. It was the kind of complete victory every team dreams of to begin their campaign.

Despite this outstanding result, we need to wait and see if the Saints are truly this good or if the Panthers are just that bad. Week 1 drubbings have occurred before and ultimately been meaningless.

During the 2021 season, New Orleans decked the Super Bowl-favorite Green Bay Packers 38-3 on opening day only to finish the season 9-8 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, one can wonder what may have been had Jameis Winston not gotten hurt for the second half of the season.

Where I am ready to jump to a conclusion is at quarterback. Derek Carr had a rocky first year in the bayou after being brought in to provide the most stability at the spot since Drew Brees retired. The signal-caller looked much more poised and comfortable than he did in any game last time around.

Amidst a non-existent pass rush, Carr stepped up in the pocket and delivered deep, accurate ball placement. None more so than the fifth play of the game when he found Rashid Shaheed on a busted coverage for a 59-yard touchdown. He finished the day 19 of 23 for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

Carr’s reception among Saints fans is understandably lukewarm after last year, but maybe he just needed to find his sea legs. Then again, he doesn’t get to play the Panthers 16 more times.

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