From bruised-up quarterbacks to bell-cow backs, the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints have quite a few things in common. And those similarities, even if their records say slightly otherwise, are certainly worth watching here in Week 14.
Let’s take a look at the biggest storylines for Sunday’s NFC South clash.
A little help, please?
No, Bryce Young hasn’t lit the football world on fire after being selected atop the 2023 NFL draft. But the bigger story, or at least the more truthful one, can be told by his lack of help.
We can start with the offensive line, where the only sure thing this season has been right tackle Taylor Moton. If we venture outside of T-Mo, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and center Bradley Bozeman have struggled in pass protection while the left guard spot has been occupied by five different starters and the right guard spot by six.
Young hasn’t had the most potent weapons to throw to either, since none of his wideouts have averaged more than 2.8 yards per separation. Plus, the only receiver that was humming has gotten awful quiet of late, as Adam Thielen has totaled just 27 yards over the last two games.
Can Young’s supporting cast, ya know, actually start to support him? The main focuses of the unit this week could be the starting guard duo of Justin McCray and Nash Jensen and second-round pick Jonathan Mingo, who is fresh off recording consecutive outings of at least 60 receiving yards for the first time in his young career.
Ready to take the wheel?
Saints quarterback Derek Carr has had a rough 2023 campaign, from all kinds of angles.
The stats haven’t been shining, as he’s thrown just 11 touchdowns to six interceptions with an average of 230.1 passing yards per game—the lowest since his rookie year. The 32-year-old veteran has also stacked up the injuries—sustaining an AC joint sprain to his throwing shoulder in Week 3 and a pair of concussions in Week 10 and Week 13.
Carr has, apparently, been cleared to give it a go on Sunday. We’ll see if New Orleans sticks with their struggling, banged-up passer.
Start your engines!
Young and Carr will be relying quite heavily on their running backs—Chuba Hubbard and Alvin Kamara. Both, in their own ways, have been the engines of their respective offenses.
Hubbard is coming off a career-high 25 carries in Tampa Bay, a workload he parlayed into 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The week before that, he amassed 92 yards from scrimmage and a score—proving he has become the primary option for Carolina out of the backfield.
Kamara, who hasn’t been the Kamara of old at just 3.8 yards per tote, has made it work through the air. The five-time Pro Bowler has averaged a ridiculous 7.7 targets per game, and may become an even bigger focal point with fellow weapons Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Taysom Hill all having missed the final two practices of the week.
With both offenses failing to find consistent footing thus far, this game may very well be decided by the backs.
