Welcome everyone to the latest game preview for the New Orleans Saints! This week, I break down the Saints matchup against NFC South rival Carolina.
Last Week: The last time New Orleans took the field was something that they would rather forget, allowing 20 points in the first quarter in a 36-20 loss to the New England Patriots. Meanwhile the Panthers relied heavily on Graham Gano last Sunday against
Last Meeting: The last time these two faced off, the Panthers came away with a 23-20 win, splitting the season series in 2016. Carolina also leads the overall series 24-20, including four of the last five matchups.
Storylines to Watch:
Which Offense Wakes Up First? The first two weeks of the season have been far from ideal for both teams in terms of putting up points on the board. Just look at Carolina’s win over the Bills that needed Graham Gano to nail all three of his field goal attempts. When you have a kicker making 18 of your 32 points through two games, it’s not a good sign for a team that looks poised for a comeback this season.
Meanwhile the Saints have shown some progress on that front, but their defense makes it an almost open and shut case that the Panthers will get the ball rolling on Sunday.
Will the Run Game Come Out of Hiding? The New Orleans Saints through two games haven’t gotten a whole lot out of their big free agent signing (stop me if you’ve heard that before) in Adrian Peterson. It could be said that in last week’s game, the script was thrown out after the abysmal first quarter and if the Saints wanted to keep it competitive they needed to throw the ball.
However, the Saints need to show a lot more than 17 carries if they want to show that they aren’t afraid to run the football going forward.
Can Offensive Line Continue to Hold Up? One of the bright spots of the Saints offense has been the fact that they have been able to keep Drew Brees vertical, allowing only two sacks in this young season. The Panthers has done a decent job of getting at the quarterback getting three sacks on Tyrod Taylor.
The Saints offensive line has been an issue for a while and will face a big test this Sunday with the Panthers ability to get at the quarterback so far.
New Orleans Will Win If:
The Saints will get the win if their defense can put a lot of pressure on Cam Newton. The offensive line wound up looking less than ideal against the Bills, allowing six sacks. If the front seven can even come close to duplicating that on Sunday, it should be a win for the Saints
Carolina Will Win If:
The Panthers can come away with a win if they can exploit the Saints weaknesses at the secondary position. Two games and the defense has allowed over 1,000 yards. While the Panthers offense has looked anemic, this could be just what the doctor ordered.
-Clint Domingue