NFC South power rankings, Week 4: Carolina Panthers' light flickers at last

1. New Orleans Saints

• Last week: 2
• Quarterback situation: In Klint Kubiak we trust

Derek Carr and the entire New Orleans Saints team rocketed back down to Earth after hanging 91 combined points on the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys to open the season. The first three quarters were a defensive struggle before the NFC East outfit came out on top.

Carr looked like an early NFL MVP candidate but was noticeably more average this time around. Some pundits questioned his early performances as being beneficiaries of gaining big early leads and having running back Alvin Kamara as a security blanket. The Eagles took both away, effectively neutralizing the run and deep pass game, and the signal-caller was unable to adjust.

The offense mustered only 219 yards, 145 of them provided by Carr (142 through the air). They fought tooth and nail for every gain, and the veteran routinely had passes batted at the line or thrown into coverage as the Eagles’ front seven engaged in their trademark disruption. With 48 seconds left in the game, he threw a critical interception and wiped away a chance for the Saints to tie, if not win outright.

It was perhaps too optimistic to expect Carr to have fully turned a corner as a player in his 11th season. His strengths and flaws are well documented, but at the very least he seemed to be hitting his stride under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Where the blame falls for this loss is a subject of hot debate. Kubiak looked like a wizard through the first two weeks and was already the subject of future head coach musings. Things should die down after this game, though to completely shut the door on him and Carr would be disingenuous to both.

The Saints get to be in first for now. The first two weeks were phenomenal, and this loss could quickly be remembered as a blip on the radar, not a sign of who the team is.

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