Derek Carr Leads Saints Past Dallas Cowboys 44-19
After a rough first season in New Orleans, Derek Carr seems to have figured something out. He has the Saints 2-0 after a huge win in Dallas, where the New Orleans Saints beat the Cowboys 44-19.
While Carr didn't have a ton or yards against the Cowboys, he didn't have to. The Saints were extremely efficient on offense, and Carr was a part of that. He went 11 for 16 for 243 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw one interception on the day. But it stacks a second 200+ yard quality win from Carr for the Saints.
In the first week of the year, Carr went 19-23 for 200 yards and three touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers. He had a 142.5 passer rating in the game.
But maybe the biggest thing for Carr and the Saints is that he was only sacked once against the Cowboys, and once against the Panthers. That's a major upgrade from where Carr and the Saints were last year, when he ended up getting sacked 31 times during the season. It was the third most in a season during his 11-year NFL career.
This is the fastest start to Carr's career, which he spent the majority of his time with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. During his time with the Raiders, Carr made 4 Pro Bowl rosters, and threw for almost 40,000 yards in 9 seasons. He threw 217 touchdowns against 99 interceptions. He also helped lead the Raiders to the playoffs in 2016 and 2021, but he was only able to play in one of those playoff runs. He was injured after 15 starts in 2016, and wasn't able to play in the playoffs. He did play in the playoffs for the 2021 season, where he threw for 310 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals. But the Raiders weren't able to win either of the games...in Carr's playoff start, they lost 26-19.
Carr looks to get back to the playoffs this season in a division that seems very winnable after 2 weeks of the season. The NFC South has two teams sitting 2-0, the Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons are sitting at 0-1 before their Monday Night Football debut for the season, and the Carolina Panthers look helpless after their 0-2 start. The teams has only managed 13 points in two games, while giving up 73.
If Carr plays like he has over the first two games this year, the Saints will have a major say in how the NFC South plays out this year.