Despite season-opening loss, Saints are tied for NFC South lead - Saints Wire
Sunday's slate was one to forget for the NFC South. While the New Orleans Saints are exiting Week 1 with a loss, they're still tied with their rivals for the division title. It's another year with the NFC South seemingly up for grabs.
All four teams lost, but the Saints have the strongest scoring differential of the group (-1). Three teams began their season on the road, with the Carolina Panthers being the only squad to drop a loss in front of their home fans. The Saints and Panthers were also the only teams competing against their neighbors in the NFC. Both the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell short against AFC teams.
That won't remain the case for long. Here's what lies ahead for each NFC South team:
The Saints are the only team advancing to play an opponent with a winning record next week, and what a matchup that is. Baltimore had one of the strongest margins of victory in Week 1 after defeating the Indianapolis Colts 41-23, and New Orleans must clean up its run defense before matching up with star running back Derrick Henry (144 yards). Franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson is feared for his rushing ability, too (40 yards in Week 1) but he also threw for 324 yards. The Detroit Lions may have been a temporarily-embarrassed playoff team coming off a down year. The Ravens look like the real deal.
Baker Mayfield's raw numbers look efficient -- 23 of 28 for 216 yards, without an interception, and he did rush for 30 yards and a score -- but he also lost three fumbles and struggled to keep pace with Joe Burrow's offense. He didn't complete a single pass over 30 yards. That isn't the performance Tampa Bay is looking for after guaranteeing him $120 million. The good news for Tampa Bay is that they're at home next week and hosting a hapless Cleveland Browns team still shackled to Deshaun Watson, who was even less effective (going 16-for-22 and 205 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars, scoring 10 points on nine drives).
We know the Falcons are bad, but are the Steelers only seven points better than them? Atlanta's defense held Aaron Rodgers to 221 passing yards on 40 attempts and didn't allow a completion of more than 28 yards. Recently-signed pass rusher Za'Darius Smith had some good moments, including a couple of sacks, and he's obviously someone to watch out for. It sure looks like the Falcons are headed for the division's basement regardless of their quarterback situation, but we'll be watching to see if Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. gets the green light next week.
Carolina scored enough points to defeat at least 25 teams this week (including the Saints), but not the Chicago Bears, who went off for 59 points and scored six touchdown runs at 7.5 yards per carry. They didn't have an answer for Caleb Williams, either, but Bryce Young did put up some gaudy numbers between 361 passing yards and three touchdown passes (with another score on the ground). Chicago's offense is very likely legit, but the Panthers could be exploitable. Just don't expect the Falcons to put up much resistance after Cooper Rush quarterbacked a QB rating of 2.6 (out of 100).
