The New Orleans Saints haven’t been treated as a contender in the NFC South. Instead, they’ve been viewed as afterthoughts in the division behind the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tyrann Mathieu acknowledged this during the offseason.
After Week 1, Bleacher Report is ready to change their tune. Their biggest takeaway from the Saints season opener versus the Carolina Panthers is “Klint Kubiak’s Offense Will Make Saints a Serious Threat in NFC South.” Here’s why they’re coming around on Klint Kubiak and Derek Carr:
“The hope was that Kubiak would find creative ways to get more out of quarterback Derek Carr, who was largely average in his first season as the Saints starter. If Sunday’s game was an accurate indication, Carr and the new-look New Orleans offense is going to be a lot of fun in 2024.”
You can make an argument about the quality of opponent, but there was a clear shift schematically. The touchdown to Juwan Johnson was a good example of this. Taysom Hill and Rashid Shaheed joined Carr in the backfield with Alvin Kamara at wide receiver. You wouldn’t see that in 2023.
Offense has been the missing key to success for the last few years. If they can unlock that this year, they will be contenders. The defense still has the pieces to be top flight. Being a threat in the division would be the floor with a good offense.
