New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers
Final Score: Panthers 23, Saints 22
Writer: Jason Wolf (J_Wolf_Picks on Twitter)
In what might be the lowest moment for the Saints since Bountygate, New Orleans lost to the 2024 Panthers the week after they traded away Diontae Johnson for peanuts. Derek Carr served up hospital balls to Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson, leading to the former being knocked out of the game in the first quarter on a scary hit to the head, leading to him being sent to a hospital for concussion symptoms. Not only did the Saints lose their best receiver, but they also made Bryce Young look like a starting-caliber NFL quarterback, which is no easy feat. I am personally not even that low on Bryce, but when he has his best career game against you without his top two receivers coming into the year, then you know something is very wrong. Young came out hot, starting the game 8/10 for 62 yards and the opening touchdown to Xavier Legette, his fourth touchdown in the last six weeks. The Panthers’ offensive line held up better than they have all year against an ineffective Saints pass rush, and Chuba Hubbard did his thing, rushing for 72 yards on almost 5 YPC and hitting paydirt twice on the day. The lone bright spot for the Saints was Alvin Kamara and his 215 scrimmage yards on 35 touches. Kamara was running physically, showed excellent patience and elusiveness, and was by far the most effective part of the Saints offense, which largely struggled on the day. Despite the struggles in the passing game and lack of pass rush, the Saints were in a position to win the game, but Bryce Young led a 5-play, 64-yard, TD scoring drive in less than 90 seconds (aided by a 20-yard DPI call) to take the lead for good. Young hit Legette for a huge 26-yard gain on 3rd & 10 to keep the drive alive, and Hubbard finished it off with a bruising 16-yard TD run to help Bryce Young take the victory formation for the first time in his NFL career.
Two Up
- Xavier Legette – Xavier Legette has scored a touchdown in three of the past four weeks, and with Diontae Johnson traded to Baltimore, Legette led the Panthers’ offense with six targets in this one. While Legette’s final stat line was nothing jaw-dropping, he is clearly a preferred red zone target, and with Bryce Young having a very encouraging performance, things are looking up for the rookie WR.
- Alvin Kamara – Despite the current dreadful state of the Saints, Kamara is thriving and having a career year. This game marked the first time in his career that he had a 200+ yard game, a surprising nugget considering his known prowess as a pass-catching back. With Chris Olave leaving the game early and Rashid Shaheed on the shelf, Kamara was the engine of the Saints offense in this one. Kamara carried the ball 29 times (compared to 31 pass attempts for Derek Carr) and saw 9 targets in the passing game. The monster workload, combined with his efficiency, led to a massive day, which could be a sign of things to come as New Orleans figures to be without Olave for at least the next week or two.
A Whole Franchise Down
- Every New Orleans offensive player not named Alvin Kamara – Between Derek Carr regularly serving up hospital balls to his guys and the offense losing its top two receivers, there is not much to be excited about in New Orleans right now. The team is chock full of horrendous contracts; they have lost seven games in a row, and the offense is depleted. For fantasy purposes, I would not want to touch anyone outside of Kamara outside of an emergency Taysom Hill spot start. Someone has to catch the ball on offense, but good luck guessing whose turn it will be on any given week, given the middling options available to the Saints.
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
Derek Carr: 18/31, 236 Yards, TD, INT
After missing the last three games, Carr was shaky in his first start since suffering his oblique injury. Whether it was OC Klint Kubiak’s gameplan that was calling for regular deep shots with an undermanned WR group or Derek Carr trying to force things, the Saints kept going for big gains in the passing game, causing the offense to stall and lose momentum when it would gain it. Without deep ball specialist Rashid Shaheed (who Carr had shown excellent rapport with earlier in the season) and down Chris Olave after the first quarter, Carr could not connect with his receivers with any consistency. Speaking of Olave, a lot of the blame for his concussion in this game could be (rightfully) placed on Carr’s tendency to needlessly throw hospital balls to his receivers. Carr did it again, throwing the ball slightly too high for Olave to snag while he was in between a converging safety over the top and his man in coverage, leading to an absolutely horrifying hit to the head and yet another concussion for Olave. Granted, the Panthers defender could have done a lot better in slowing down and not hitting Olave that high, but it is also hard to blame the defender for trying to do his job and preventing Olave from coming down with the potential catch. Carr also set up Juwan Johnson to take a nasty hit later in the game, but he was lucky to avoid a concussion and was able to stay in the game, unlike Olave. The decision-making and play-calling were highly questionable in this one as the short passing game with the tight ends, and Alvin Kamara was keeping the ball going upfield and allowing Carr to get into a rhythm following his return from injury. On both of his hospital balls to Olave and Johnson, other options were open for short gains on the play. Carr has become too enamored with the deep ball (probably from the high of the Saints’ first two weeks) and cost his team with the questionable decision to throw it into a tighter window much farther up the field. Carr finished the first half 9/16 for 132 yards. He was mostly accurate, but watching the game, it felt like he was unnecessarily forcing things for the big gain in favor of a higher completion% and more short gains. The worst instance came on the Saints’ very last offensive play of the game when, instead of throwing the deep ball to Cedrick Wilson on the Saints’ 4th & 4 with a minute left, Carr could have tried to hit Juwan Johnson, who was much more open. The degree of difficulty on the pass would have been much easier, but Carr was looking downfield all game, a lot of times to a fault. Johnson was coming open, and would have likely been a complete pass had Carr thrown a somewhat accurate ball. Instead of the 30-yard fade, Carr could have easily kept the chains moving and given the Saints a chance to seal the win with a FG. Carr did have some great throws, though, particularly the TD throw to Foster Moreau, which was a thing of beauty. Carr delivered a perfectly placed ball where only Moreau could make the play, and he did a spectacular job coming down with the leaping catch for the score. Carr, now the first NFL QB to lose to 31 different teams, looked lost without Olave out there, with only Kamara to rely on as a security blanket.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara: 29 Carries, 155 Yards | 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 60 Yards
With Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams inactive in this one, Alvin Kamara saw his heaviest workload of the season, touching the rock a total of 35 times on the day, accounting for 215 total yards, a new career high for the Swiss army knife RB. Kamara took his first carry of the game for 20 yards and never looked back, averaging over 5 YPC on the day, which is extremely impressive considering the volume of carries and the fact that he was the only reliable offensive weapon for New Orleans. The first drive of the game was the Kamara show. He got the ball five times, accounting for 50 of the Saints’ 67 yards on the drive to set up the opening-drive FG score. He is a tougher / more physical runner than he gets credit for. On his first rush of the day, he broke through initial contact and powered through defenders in the second level, lowering his shoulder and falling forward for a handful of extra yards after contact. He displayed his excellent patience + vision as a ball carrier on his way to 118 scrimmage yards at the half. Derek Carr finished the game with 31 pass attempts, and Kamara had 29 rushes. With Olave out, they just fed Kamara all day, and he kept coming through. The 35 touches is an absurd number that not many RBs in the league can reach, but Kamara remained surprisingly effective all the way to the end. He saw 9 targets on the day, with the next closest being Taysom Hill with five. Kamara had three times as many targets as any WR, as the receiver with the most targets was Cedrick Wilson with only three. The only thing missing from Kamara’s spectacular day was a touchdown, but the lack of a score was due to no fault of his own. Kamara was excellent in this game, flashing his power, patience, durability, and elusiveness routinely. He is a cutback artist in the backfield, as he was constantly making initial defenders miss at the LOS.
Jordan Mims: 5 Carries, 13 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 25 Yards
Signed to the active roster from the practice squad on Saturday, Jordan Mims got five carries, going for 13 yards, and caught one reception for 25 yards. His 25-yard gain came on the last play of the first half with the Saints out of timeouts and far away from field goal range. Carr dumped it off to Mims, and he was able to get 20+ YAC with the defense nowhere around Mims as they were upfield protecting the endzone. A practically useless 25-yard gain, but hey, at least he made the catch.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Chris Olave: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 13 Yards
The injury cart came out on the field for Chris Olave, who suffered a nasty hit to the head in the first quarter on an incomplete pass down the middle. Olave was hit and wasn’t moving as he was down on the field. It was a scary injury as the game stopped for several minutes while he was being attended to, and ultimately, he had to be taken off the field on the cart and escorted to a nearby hospital for evaluation. The pass attempt that led to him getting concussed was a hospital ball down the middle from Derek Carr. The Panthers defender could have done a better job of letting up before hitting Olave, but it is hard to fault the defender for trying to do his job. As Tom Brady has alluded to many times, it is part of the QB’s job to protect their guys and not put them in those positions, which Carr has not seemed to grasp yet in all his years as a starting quarterback.
Juwan Johnson: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 41 Yards
Juwan Johnson came down with a 25-yard reception in the first quarter. It was a big play, and he did a nice job to hold on to the ball after taking a big hit immediately after catching the ball. With 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Johnson took a nasty shot to the head and was removed from the game under concussion protocol on another hospital ball from Carr. Just like in the Olave play, Carr had an open man for a shorter gain than his intended target but instead put his receiver in a dangerous position, and Johnson paid the price. Luckily, Juwan was able to come back into the game and appeared to be alright.
Missed Opportunities
- On the final offensive play of the game on 4th & 4 with the Saints down one, Derek Carr inexplicably threw a 30-yard fade to Cedrick Wilson with the game on the line. The ball was decently placed, but Johnson was coming open down the middle for a much easier chance at a first down and an opportunity to keep the game alive. Johnson was the first read on the play, too, making Carr’s decision even more questionable. Johnson was open and would have most likely caught the ball for a game-changing first down if Carr threw an even halfway decent ball. It wouldn’t have made a huge difference in Johnson’s box score, but it could have been the difference between the Saints taking the loss or stealing the win.
Taysom Hill: 5 Carries, 19 Yards, TD | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 41 Yards
Taysom Hill was heavily involved in the first half, leading the team in receiving yards through halftime. It was a classic Taysom Hill game as he made an impact as a runner, receiver, and as the QB taking snaps under center. In the second quarter, with the Saints knocking on the Panthers’ endzone door, he lined up in shotgun as the QB on 1st & goal from the 7-yard line and ran it in for the touchdown. Hill followed his lead block and hit the hole hard, absorbing contact and powering through it to punch in the score. With a bunch of Saints’ offensive weapons sidelined, they relied on Taysom to keep the Panthers’ defense on their toes and utilized him in different ways to keep the ball moving.
Cedrick Wilson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 34 Yards
Cedrick Wilson saw three targets, securing two balls for 34 yards. The most notable play that he was involved in came when he was targeted on the Saints’ last offensive play of the game. On 4th & 4, with one minute left, Carr fired a 30-yard fade to Wilson, which the Carolina DB did a good job of breaking up. Carr’s pass was pretty on the money, but it was a 50/50 lofted ball, and Wilson would have had to make a spectacular catch to come down with it. The decision to throw to Cedrick there was awful, but Wilson did what he could to almost come down with it.
Foster Moreau: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 17 Yards, TD
Foster Moreau was only targeted twice on the day, coming down with one reception. He did make the absolute most of it, however, coming down with a highlight-reel-worthy touchdown catch. On the 17-yard TD catch, Moreau high-pointed the ball in the end zone and showed incredibly strong/sturdy hands by securing the catch even though the DB had his hands on the ball all the way through the catch and even came down on top of him. Moreau secured the ball with both hands and completed the process of the catch for one of the highlight catches of the day in any game.
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
Bryce Young: 16/26, 171 Yards, TD, INT
Though the final stats were unspectacular, this was probably the best overall game of Bryce Young’s… young career thus far. After 20 starts in the NFL, Young was finally able to take a snap lined up in victory formation for the Panthers to win for the first time. He started the game 8/10 for 62 yards and the TD to Xavier Legette. He came out accurate and patient. Taking what the defense gave him and taking advantage of his second chance to start so far, Bryce was composed, not showing any loss of confidence after his benching. He led one of the best drives of his career on the Panthers’ TD-scoring drive in the first quarter. Young was 5/5 for 42 yards and the TD to Legette, which was nicely placed in the back of the end zone where only he could come down with it. He delivered some perfectly placed balls when given time to throw, which was the case more often in this game than in any other game this season. Particularly on his 15+ yard pass to Jalen Coker with 3 minutes left in the first quarter, Bryce delivered a dime that landed right in Coker’s hands. He flashed some of his potential when given time to operate under center, displaying accuracy, good decision-making, and solid mental processing. Young finished the first half 10/13 for 77 yards and the TD. He was accurate, made quick decisions, and wasn’t forcing anything, taking what the defense gave him. Most importantly, he protected the ball and didn’t make any critical errors in the game, which is a massive improvement and highly encouraging from Young, who needed to string together some good snaps to help his confidence. He did a great job to lead the game-winning drive. His body language was cool, calm, and collected as he drove the Panthers down the field for what was the game-winning TD drive. Young connected with Legette on a huge 3rd & 10 to keep the drive going, which led to Chuba Hubbard’s ultimate winning TD score. One impressive thing about Bryce is his mental toughness and composure. In two short years, Bryce has been through three HCs, been benched more than once, and constantly called a bust by fans and media alike, but he doesn’t seem to let it affect him or his game. He also handled pressure much more respectably than I’ve seen him do before. There were no panic, terrible decisions, or crucial mistakes that led to turnovers, which have become an unfortunate staple in the Bryce Young experience thus far. Hopefully, this game will be the start of a turnaround in the narrative surrounding Young.
Notes
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Young’s interception was one of the most undeserving interceptions to go down in the box score in the history of undeserved interceptions. He threw a perfectly placed ball to Xavier Legette, which hit him right in the numbers. Legette caught the ball, but the Saints’ DB literally snatched the ball from his hands immediately after he made the catch. This is the kind of interception that makes fans clamor for a contextualized INT statistic that doesn’t credit the QB for a turnover that isn’t his fault. The interception was honestly bizarre and a freak play, which you seldom see happen in that fashion. Instead of a big gain and one of the best passes of his career, it went down for an interception and a big knock on his QBR and final stat line. The throw was perfect as he escaped the pocket, running to his right and dropping an absolute dime to Legette on the run. Hubbard punched in the touchdown on the Panthers’ opening second-half drive. Panthers gave him the ball on consecutive plays on the 1-yard line, and he converted on the second attempt, illustrating the trust and faith that Carolina has in him. On the winning touchdown run, Hubbard displayed great patience and vision as he was waiting for a hole to materialize, and when it did, he found it instantly and hit it hard, breaking a leg tackle and rumbling in for the TD. I always walk away impressed when watching how powerful of a runner he is Even though the Panthers eked out the win, HC Dave Canales has to make sure they feed Chuba the ball more throughout the game and to close the game.
Running Back
Chuba Hubbard: 15 Carries, 72 Yards, 2 TD | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 0 Yards
Usually the heart & soul of the Panthers offense, Chuba Hubbard couldn’t get much going on the ground in the first half. The Saints seemed to focus on stopping Hubbard and not letting him beat them but instead challenged Bryce Young to beat them. Hubbard’s efficiency wasn’t great, and Young was playing well, so the Panthers didn’t ride Chuba as hard as they usually do. However, he did start to heat up in the second half, gaining yards at a more efficient rate and saving his best run for last on his 16-yard game-winning touchdown romp. The multi-TD effort was the first of this season and the second of his career, a sign of the improved offensive line coming together for their best performance of the year. Not only was Bryce allowed more time to operate, but they were consistently opening up holes for Chuba to run through in the second half in particular.
Miles Sanders: 2 Rushes, -5 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, -5 Yards
When watching a Panthers game, it feels like 90% of touches that go Miles Sanders‘ way is a missed opportunity to put the ball in Hubbard’s hands. Of course, every RB needs a breather now and then, but the dropoff in quality between Hubbard and Sanders is massive, and that is very apparent when watching Sanders carry the ball after Chuba. One (or two) too many 3rd down checkdowns to Sanders. They don’t gain much yardage and are too easily defended. They have to stop with those play calls. At least mix Sanders in on 1st/2nd down, but bringing him on 3rd down & long for those are predictable and ineffective.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Xavier Legette: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 33 Yards, TD | 1 Rush, 6 Yards
With the trade of Diontae Johnson to Baltimore, the rookie Xavier Legette has stepped into the “WR1” role in Carolina, and his target share did not disappoint as he accounted for almost a 25% share of Bryce Young’s passes. His production wasn’t the most efficient or eye-popping, but he led the team in targets and came down with a touchdown for the third time in four weeks. He caught Bryce Young’s only TD pass of the day, making a nice catch in the back of the end zone, making sure to get both feet in bounds for the score, showing nice awareness and hands. On Young’s interception, Legette did have a beautiful ball thrown his way and landed in his hands, only for it to be ripped out by the Saints’ DB. After the game, Legette called the interception a “freak play,” and I would have to agree with him as you rarely ever see a play like that happen. Legette took accountability for it, saying he had to make that play, which is an encouraging sign of his mentality and maturity. Even though the ball was ripped from him and should have gone down as a fumble, it should have never happened, as there should have been a flag for DPI as the defender was holding on to Legette as the ball was approaching him. Legette also got a designed handoff/run play his way on 2nd & 1 on Carolina’s first drive, something that has been a regular fold in the Panthers’ offense since the beginning of the year. Legette clearly has a nose for the end zone, and the Panthers recognize his talents as their now most dangerous receiving weapon, and his arrow is only pointing up with no Diontae Johnson or Adam Thielen (for now) to take targets away from him.
Jalen Coker: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 36 Yards
With the departure of Diontae Johnson, many expected bigger things from Jalen Coker in this game and moving forward. He didn’t necessarily meet those expectations against the Saints, as he only saw three targets, coming down with two receptions from 36 yards. Coker was second on the team in receiving yards but saw fewer targets than every other receiver who saw a ball go their way. On one of his two 18-yard catches on the day, Coker did a great job in leaping to come down with the catch. Bryce threw the ball just a little too high, but Coker did a great job and showed focus and good hands to come down with it.
Ja’Tavion Sanders: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 87 Yards
The rookie TE Ja’Tavion Sanders had a career day, catching 4 passes for 87 yards while adding the first of hopefully many career highlights to his reel. On the 46-yard gain, Sanders showed off some insane athleticism with the run after the catch. He caught the ball only one yard ahead of the LOS and sprinted down the sideline, where he hurdled the would-be defender trying to tackle him head-on. The big-bodied TE displayed some speed down the sideline, too, when he ran for an extra 30 yards after the hurdle. Bryce Young did a good job of getting rid of the ball under the pressure of the quickly collapsing pocket, but Sanders did all the work on the near-50-yard play with his impressive catch and run, highlighted by his nasty hurdle. He came out of halftime hot as he made two big plays on the Panthers’ opening second-half drive. First, he made the 46-yard play and then followed that up with a 21-yard reception on 3rd & 4 to keep the Panthers’ drive going. He flashed some serious athletic profile and, with the Panthers’ limited options on offense, has certainly earned himself a bigger piece of the offensive pie moving forward.
David Moore 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Panthers Fan: “I want DJ Moore on my team.”
David Tepper: “We have D. Moore at home.”
D. Moore at home: *David Moore*