What We Saw: Week 2 Monday Night Edition

Defense and injuries ruled the night in two Monday Night divisional showdowns

Ben Brown
What We Saw 12 Months Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Saints @ Panthers
Browns @ Steelers

Saints @ Panthers

Final Score: Saints 20, Panthers 17

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

After we all digested whatever that new ESPN Monday Night Football song featuring Snoop Dogg, Chris Stapleton and Cindy Blackman Santana was, a matchup between two teams in flux awaited. It was a drab first half with both teams restricted to short gains and conservative play calling – Derek Carr and Bryce Young both coughed up the football prior to half time to make things a little more interesting but neither team had the ruthlessness to cash in.

The second half actually got worse. I didn’t think it was possible. The Saints continued to be anaemic on offense with Carr’s troubles mounting.  The Panthers had a false start on fourth-and-one at the Saints 31-yard line when they lined up to go for it, thus having to settle for a field goal. Flags, self-inflicted penalties and poor execution from both offense’ made this unwatchable for the most part. Then suddenly, hope! Chris Olave‘s electrifying catch kickstarted the contest and the last quarter is the only part of the game you need to watch.

 

Three Up

  • Alvin Kamara – with just one game remaining on Kamara’s suspension and Jamaal Williams expecting to miss time, the all purpose back looks set to return to a heavy workload. Expect big things.
  • Chris Olave – the star continues to rise for this talented wideout who was by far and away the most exciting player on the field. A sensational third quarter catch sparked his team into life on offense.
  • Rashid Shaheed – the speedster is carving out a role for himself after impressing once again with his route running and safe hands. Let’s hope he has earned more targets to thrust himself into fantasy relevance as a flex option.

 

Three Down

  • Miles Sanders – in a plus situation in Philadelphia last year, Sanders now finds himself at the other end of the running back landscape. It will be hard for him to see volume and red-zone opportunities with the Panthers operating this offense.
  • Derek Carr – a less-than-convincing performance from the veteran quarterback, whose change of circumstances have so far only brought about more of the same.
  • Jamaal Williams – hamstring injuries can be debilitating for running backs who rely on driving their legs into force. Williams is one of the league’s good guys so we wish him a speedy recovery.

 

New Orleans Saints

 

Quarterback

 

Derek Carr: 21/36, 228 Yards, INT | 3 Carries, -4 Yards

 

An extremely rough first half for Carr littered with poor throws and bad decision-making was topped off by a suicidal throw deep in his own territory which was picked off by Von Bell to give the Panthers a golden opportunity prior to half time. Carr was under no pressure on third-and-four on his own 20-yard line when he lofted a pass down the right sideline toward Chris Olave, who was in triple coverage. It was a horrific mistake.

 

Carr hadn’t had much joy up that point and was sacked twice on the final drive of the half after a Panthers turnover. The Panthers secondary were outstanding, taking away short throws for Carr and tempting him with deeper balls.

Things started to open up a little for Carr in the second half as a gassed Panthers defense slowed down. An overthrown deep ball was expertly hauled in by a diving Olave to set the Saints up to score a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. Carr then hit Rashid Shaheed on another long ball for a 45-yard gain that setup another touchdown drive to seal the contest. When it mattered, Carr took a couple of shots and they paid off. But, it wasn’t convincing and against a better offense he won’t have the scoreboard in his favor.

 

Notes

  • Averaged less than four yard per passing attempt across the first two drives.
  • Made a number of unconvincing throws on plays that he didn’t look to be on the same page with receivers, notably on a third and goal where he check down to Toby Jones who hadn’t even turned for the catch yet.
  • Took two sacks and lost 15 yards after the Saints recovered a fumble from Young to give the a golden opportunity to stretch out their three point lead prior to half time.

Missed Opportunities

  • Carr threw well short of Olave on second down on the first drive of the game – it was a throw a top quarterback makes no problem. He then took a sack on third down after lingering too long in the pocket.
  • Wasted a first down at the Panthers 14-yard line with a check down and then a miscommunication (that looked like a throw away) out of the back of the end zone that Michael Thomas had no chance of making.

 

Running Back

 

Taysom Hill: 9 Carries, 75 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 0 Yards

 

In addition to his traditional wildcat role, Hill garnered extra touches due to Williams going down early in the second quarter. Usually more akin to the occasional touchdown, Hill actually ceded that role to Toby Jones Jr. He did account for 75 of the Saints’ 134 rushing yards, however, and with Kamara still missing for at least another game it would not be a surprise if he saw a similar workload next week. Hill was pivotal in the final touchdown drive, breaking off a huge 19-yard gain from the shotgun to embed the Saints in the Panthers red-zone.

 

Toby Jones Jr.: 12 Carries, 34 Yards, 2 TD | 2 Targets

 

Benefitting from the injury to Williams, Jones Jr. took over the lead role and rand the ball five times inside the Panthers 30-yard line on a go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter. Jones chipped away with short gains but was given every chance to hit pay dirt.

 

He fought his way through for another score late in the fourth quarter to give the Saints some breathing room. Jones will likely be a popular waiver wire add this week but it should be noted that Hill was also used a little more so it won’t be like he is a sure-fire high-volume starter next week before Kamara’s return.

 

Jamaal Williams: 9 Carries, 29 Yards

 

Former Packers and Lions running back Williams looked to be carrying the full workload for the Saints in the first half, minus the usual, occasional package for Hill. Williams carried the ball nine times in the first three drives before gingerly departing to the locker room in the second quarter. The word was he suffered a hamstring injury and that left Toby Jones Jr. as the only active option alongside Hill.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Chris Olave: 11 Targets, 6 Receptions, 86 Yards

 

Thank you, Chris Olave! A horrendous game was finally graced with a sensational play to provide a spark in the third quarter. Olave sprinted deep down the sideline and laid out with one hand to try and catch an overthrown ball from Carr. Olave juggled the ball with one hand while forcing off the attention of the cornerback with the other before securing the ball with both hands as he hit the deck. A remarkable effort and breathtaking catch – the true moment of quality that ended up separating these two teams.

 

Olave was unlucky not to come away with a touchdown after stepping out of bounds by the smallest of margins while hopping over a tackle after catching a pass and turning downfield in the fourth quarter. A 16-yard touchdown was reversed to be a 9-yard gain.

 

Michael Thomas: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 55 Yards

 

The return of Thomas is like a new first round pick for the Saints and he announced his quality with a sensational mid-air catch in the second quarter to set his team up in the red-zone. One of the only exciting moments of a drab first half, Thomas turned in the air to haul in the deep ball from Carr and landed on his backside while maintaining possession sliding backwards out of bounds.

 

Thomas played second fiddle to Olave in the second half and did not haul in a catch after the Panthers doubled up on coverage, but the returning veteran still saw a healthy nine targets to go with his eight targets last week.

 

Rashid Shaheed: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 63 Yards

 

After breaking out last week and finding the end zone, Shaheed had a much quieter night. He did catch all his targets, however and a terrific double move down the sideline in the fourth quarter fooled Donte Jackson allowing Carr to find him for a huge 45-yard gain. Prior to that Shaheed had been used on short routes on the outside in an aim to try find him in space to run. The Panthers kept him in check, though. As the WR3 with a mediocre quarterback, Shaheed’s value is dependent on his touchdown production.

 

Foster Moreau: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards

Juwan Johnson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards

Keith Kirkwood: 1 Target

 

Carolina Panthers

 

Quarterback

 

Bryce Young: 22/33, 153 Yards, TD | 2 Carries, 34 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

 

It was a baptism of fire for the overall number one pick in the 2023 NFL Draft as Young was like a deer caught in headlights on his first Monday Night Football appearance. Behind an offensive line that was no match for an experienced, potent Saints pass rush, Young was sent scrambling drive-after-drive and spent a lot of times throwing the ball away or looking for his safety blanket Adam Thielen over the middle. Young had only 66 yards passing going into the final drive of the half starting at the Saints’ 37 -yard line, which came around due to Carr’s interception. Young found Thielen inside the red-zone but the Saints defense caught up with him, Carl Granderson chasing Young down from behind forcing the fumble and Saints recovery.

 

The second half had to be different and the biggest change was that Young started to use his legs on third down to move the sticks. After the ground game was stuffed, Young finally took some responsibility to make something happen in the fourth quarter with a big third down gain.

 

The final couple of drives saw Young in a nice rhythm in the short passing game. The Saints were giving up the yardage in an effort to bleed the clock but Young still executed nicely to give the defense a shot at stopping the Saints one final time. His passing attempts and yardage are unimpressive for fantasy purposes but as a long-term investment, Young looks like a highly skilled pocket quarterback who will learn and develop from experience.

 

Notes

  • Relied on his veteran players early and showed smarts by taking the easy yards and protecting points rather than taking a sack or attempting dangerous throws.
  • Consistently faced third-and-long allowing the Saints to bring the blitz resulting in two strip sacks, the second negated by defensive holding.
  • Had no help from his offensive line and run game – will need to progress to using his feet more and progressing through reads quickly.

Missed Opportunities

  • A costly error in the red-zone resulted in a turnover when there was only three points between the teams. Young thought he was back in college as he rolled right casually looking into the end zone before being strip-sacked from behind.
  • Took a sack after hesitating in the pocket on third-and-three at the Saints 13-yard line in the fourth quarter. Had to settle for a field goal which ultimately cost them a chance at the win.

 

Running Back

 

Miles Sanders: 14 Carries, 43 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 4 Yards

 

There was hope that the veteran back Sanders could improve on his four yards-per-carry in Week 1 after he broke through a lane inside for a 13-yard gain on his first carry, however things dried up quickly after that as the Saints defense dominated in the trenches. Sanders only succeeded in rushing for another 34 yards on 16 subsequent touches, yikes. He split looks out of the backfield with Chubba Hubbard (mainly after half time), but neither back looked to give the Panthers a game-changing play. Sanders has the seniority and the track record to continue to lead the backfield but don’t expect too many positive game scripts as today proved.

 

Chubba Hubbard: 2 Carries, 16 Yards | 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 34 Yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Adam Thielen: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 54 Yards, TD

 

From the off it looked like Thielen would be the go-to target fro Young as he looked to easy completions short and underneath. Thielen was target three times on the opening drive and worked out of the slot primarily. He also made a fantastic defensive play on the following drive when it looked like Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor had picked off a short throw from Young placed behind Thielen – the former Vikings wideout reached back to pull the ball free from Taylor who had to juggle the ball when going out of bounds. Thielen saved his team from conceding at least three points.

Inexplicably, Thielen wasn’t targeted in the second half until well into the fourth quarter despite catching five balls in the opening half. He immediately had an impact, catching a roll out to the sideline for a 3-yard score. It was too little too late for the Panthers, however.

 

Jonathan Mingo: 8 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26 Yards

 

The return of DJ Chark didn’t eat into rookie Mingo’s target share as he actually saw three more targets despite not being able to turn that into catches and production. At least four of the targets were uncatchable, however as Young threw low and short on each occasion. He rescued an alarming stat line with a late catch in the red zone to setup Thielen’s touchdown. Could he not have turned and tried to force the ball in the end zone on this play? We’d like to see the rookie go for six here.

 

Hayden Hurst: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards

 

Hurst, who the the most targeted receiver in Week 1 for the Panthers, only saw his first target midway through the fourth quarter. It was a very quiet night for the tight end which begged the question why he wasn’t involved earlier with the Panthers failing to move the sticks for much of the game.

 

Laviska Shenault Jr.: 1 Carry, 7 Yards

DJ Chark: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 15 Yards

Series Navigation
Introduction
Saints @ Panthers
Browns @ Steelers

One response to “What We Saw: Week 2 Monday Night Edition”

  1. R. Amsrule says:
    September 20, 2023 at 7:21 am

    It’s Tony Jones Jr.
    Not Toby. You called him Toby about 10 times. Odd….

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.