Tag: NFL Week 2

Saints’ win over the Cowboys displays a major shift for New Orleans

The Saints’ win over the Cowboys showcased real growth. Dennis Allen beat a good team, and Klint Kubiak has completely renovated this offense:

The 2024 rendition of the New Orleans Saints have already succeeded where last year’s team failed. They’ve defeated a good team by knocking out the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

When the Saints finally started to put it together at the end of 2023, they defeated the lowly Carolina Panthers and New York Giants. The following game was against the Los Angeles Rams, and everyone wanted to see the Saints find success against a better opponent. Sound familiar?

This was the same sentiment expressed before visiting the Cowboys. But this time they passed the test. Alvin Kamara built on top of a strong Week 1 performance, Derek Carr’s connection to Rashid Shaheed proved to still  be dangerous, and it’s safe to say Klint Kubiak has completely renovated this offense.

The offensive line stalled the Cowboys’ pass rush, and that was the place where it seemed Dallas had the biggest advantage on paper. Trevor Penning and Taliese Fuaga kept Carr clean against an elite pass rusher in Micah Parsons.

Rising to the occasion this week answered a lot of questions about the Saints, and it drew a clear line between this team and last year’s squad. The 2024 Saints can beat good teams. The sky just might be the limit for New Orleans.

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97% of experts picked the wrong team in Saints vs. Cowboys

Nobody’s perfect, but it’s shocking for so many people to be so wrong about this. 97% of experts picked the wrong team in Saints vs. Cowboys:

Nobody’s perfect, but it’s shocking for so many people to be so wrong about this. According to surveying conducted by NFL Pickwatch before kickoff on Sunday morning, 97% of experts picked the wrong team in Week 2’s New Orleans Saints versus Dallas Cowboys game. The Saints won instead, 44-19.

But it’s easy to see why there was so much confidence backing Dallas from neutral observers. The Cowboys were returning from last year’s playoffs and the Saints weren’t. Dallas was riding a 16-game win streak at home — one of the last quarterbacks to beat them inside AT&T Stadium in the regular season, Tom Brady, was on the FOX Sports broadcast for this game. The Cowboys were the easy pick here.

It goes to show you that the easy choice isn’t always the correct one. Many folks watching from home wrote off the Saints’ big Week 1 win because it happened against the lowly Carolina Panthers. We’re guessing it’ll be tough to write off this one now that the Cowboys team many of those viewers picked to win the Super Bowl got embarrassed just as badly as Carolina.

So what does that mean for the Saints? Expectations are higher now. They can’t rest on their laurels and take it easy from here. Every team left on their schedule is going to hope they aren’t the ones Alvin Kamara is breaking another record against, or that Tyrann Mathieu won’t be picking off their quarterback. Nobody wants to see Derek Carr strutting around their end zone. It’s on the Saints to make all those things happen anyway and continue winning over their doubters.

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Aidan Hutchinson offers smart perspective on the Lions’ Week 2 loss

Aidan Hutchinson offers smart perspective on the Lions’ Week 2 loss, which smells a lot like Detroit’s bad Week 2 last year

The Detroit Lions dropped a tough one at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Lions lost 20-16 despite the best efforts of Aidan Hutchinson.

The third-year defensive end racked up 4.5 sacks in the loss, dominating with his pass rush. Hutchinson had an amazing game, as did the Lions defense for the most part. Detroit held Tampa Bay to 14 first downs and 216 total yards.

It’s a frustrating outcome for the Lions, no doubt. But it’s not a death blow for the team’s lofty hopes for 2024. Hutchinson offered up some pretty sage perspective about it after the game.

“Yeah, I mean, it sucks, but I was just talking to some guys. I think this is going to be good for us,” Hutchinson said in his postgame presser. “We lost last year (in Week 2) too. I remember we lost to Seattle and everybody thought we sucked again. I think we’re going to keep this one in perspective and if we’re going to struggle a little bit as a team, I think I’d rather struggle early.”

Indeed, the Lions did lose in Week 2 last year to the Seahawks in Ford Field, a game that followed up Detroit’s road win over the reigning champion Chiefs in Kansas City in Week 1. Jared Goff threw a pick-six in that game, while David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown each gave away fumbles in a 37-31 overtime loss to Seattle.

Last season, Hutchinson and the Lions followed that 1-1 start with four straight wins, including a 20-9 suffocation of Atlanta in Week 3. They’ve been here before, as Hutchinson well knows, and they understand how to move forward from a tough loss.

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Instant analysis after Bengals come up short vs. Chiefs in Week 2

Instant analysis after Bengals vs. Chiefs in Week 2.

The Cincinnati Bengals looked like an entirely different team in Kansas City, taking the Chiefs down to the wire in a 26-25 loss.

It was a far cry from the season-opening flop, to say the least, with Joe Burrow’s offense suddenly alive and the defense not only cleaning up the tackling issues but forcing turnovers.

Here are some notable notes and numbers from the game.

 

Quick Thoughts

  • Bengals looked like a totally different team offensively early, mixing up formations and looks and even getting aggressive, converting a fourth down. Things stalled at about the six-yard line, but the lesson was clear — the first week of normal practice after a summer of issues helped get things right.
  • Akeem Davis-Gaither picked off Patrick Mahomes on a nice disguise, which is really what it’s about against the Chiefs — scratching and clawing for that one turnover that keeps him off the field.
  • Andrei Iosivas didn’t just catch a touchdown from Burrow after the ADG interception — he ran a route in a situation that would normally go to Tee Higgins and excelled, which might say a lot about the future.
  • Forcing two turnovers against the Chiefs in the first half enabled the Bengals to go into halftime at 16-10. Touchdowns would have been nice, but it’s no easy feat to swing the balance against the Chiefs regardless.
  • Tight ends were a huge theme of the game. That includes rookie Erick All, who fell in the draft due to injury and was a big part of the offense getting going in the first half.
  • Rookie Jermaine Burton beat a defender down the field for a 47-yard gain in the third quarter. When he’s making plays like that, he’s going to be impossible to keep off the field.
  • Iosivas might just be a star in the making. The first touchdown was nice. The second touchdown was lethal. He ran a route that left a defender grabbing air and was wide open on a fourth-down score — kudos goes to Zac Taylor for being so aggressive too.
  • Cam Taylor-Britt made the interception of the year.
  • Burrow’s fumble came on a desperation play on a third down after a disaster of a series highlighted by Gesicki dropping an easy completion. There’s a conversation to be had about whether the rookie All should see more snaps already.
  • Ja’Marr Chase will take some heat for his foolish penalty for going after an official in the fourth quarter at a critical moment and rightfully so. Joe Burrow had to hold him back and he still got flagged.

 

Key Stat

8-of-79: Penalties and yardage by the Bengals. There’s a slim margin of effort against the Chiefs and Cincinnati merely had too many mistakes at critical moments.

 

Game Balls

Trey Hendrickson: The man just took over the game in a two-minute drill and later in the fourth quarter. No chip or double team was working and he wreaked havoc.

LB Germaine Pratt: The veteran linebacker had 13 tackles — near the half. He was keeping everything in front of him and super active on the day.

Andrei Iosvias: Two touchdowns, both of them stunners in the creating-separation department.

 

Top Takeaway

Preseason is over: Joking aside, the season opener looked like a preseason game for the Bengals on both sides of the ball. This was entirely different, with the offense in sync and defenders making tackles. The turnovers were a nice bonus. No matter how this game ended, it’s a fantastic sign for the rest of the year that the Bengals suddenly look to be in a proper gear against one of the NFL’s best.

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New Orleans Saints fans take over Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium

New Orleans Saints fans took over AT&T Stadium on Sunday, parading out of the arena with a second line after their win over the Dallas Cowboys:

New Orleans Saints fans had a strong presence at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, with audible “Who Dat” chants carrying over the FOX Sports broadcast in-between  their team’s big plays. And afterwards, Dallas Cowboys media caught sight of Saints fans marching out of the arena with a second line after their win on the road.

That’s an impressive sight — a river of black and gold jerseys complete with festive umbrellas and what certainly appears to be a trombone and a couple of sousaphones.

Natural geography has made Dallas a popular destination for Saints fans looking catch a road game without traveling too far from Louisiana; it’s a short flight or a manageable drive across state lines for many of them, and they clearly had a good time. A historic scoring output and lockdown defense will do that. We’re guessing this wasn’t the home opener Cowboys fans had in mind.

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Saints made ‘Scorigami’ history in Week 2 win vs. Cowboys

The Saints made ‘Scorigami’ history in their Week 2 win vs. Cowboys. It’s the first time an NFL game has ended with this score:

https://twitter.com/NFL_Scorigami/status/1835407666346098903

The New Orleans Saints made ‘Scorigami’ history in their Week 2 win over  the Dallas Cowboys. It’s the first time an NFL game has ended with this score — a margin of 44-19. How did we get here?

It took six Saints touchdowns (four of them from Alvin Kamara), a blocked point-after attempt against the Saints and too many kicks by Dallas, who settled for four field goals. But that extra point try going awry is what made this win auspicious. There hasn’t been a final tally like this in the history of the NFL.

But the Saints are more concerned with their 2-0 record than the dominance of this 25-point upset. That’s what will make the difference in the division standings and, maybe, playoff seeding later this season. Dennis Allen’s team is proving many of its doubters wrong through the first two weeks. Let’s see them keep it up.

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Cincinnati Bengals inactive players vs. Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2

Bengals announce inactives for Week 2 vs. Chiefs.

The Cincinnati Bengals inactives list against the Kansas City Chiefs features some big names.

As expected, tops among those names is star wide receiver Tee Higgins.

The full inactives list the Bengals issued:

  • WR Tee Higgins
  • DL Kris Jenkins Jr.
  • TE Tanner McLachlan
  • OT Amarius Mims
  • DL Cedric Johnson

Higgins suffered a hamstring injury during the final days before the season opener. More recently, he took the time to shoot back at fans who suggested he’s faking (of course, he isn’t, and no, he didn’t need to address it).

Otherwise, the rest of the inactives list doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises. The interior of the defensive line remains a question mark Jenkins and others down. Tight end Tanner Hudson was doubtful and isn’t listed here, but it’s safe to presume he doesn’t play.

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The Saints starting offense hasn’t punted through 6 quarters in 2024

The Saints starting offense scored on every possession through six quarters. Their 310 first-half yards against the Cowboys was a franchise record — for Dallas:

The New Orleans Saints offense continued their streak from last week. Against the Carolina Panthers, the Saints scored on every drive led by the Derek Carr and the starting offense. The unit had nine possessions that led to five touchdowns and four field goals.

In Week 2, the team is going against a better defense. No one told Klint Kubiak. Instead, he proceeded to dial up a 35 point first half against the Dallas Cowboys, with three Alvin Kamara touchdowns. This came off the heels of a 30 point first half in Week 1.

That was the best first half under Dennis Allen at the time. That claim has now been replaced by this performance. In five drives, the Saints starting offense still haven’t required the punter to come out.

All five drives have resulted in touchdowns, so far. Carr has been equally as efficient as he was a week ago, and he’s already surpassed his passing total from the debut. The 310 yards of offense the Saints gained in the first half was a franchise record — for Dallas, being the most yardage their defense had ever given up through the first two quarters.

If the Saints can take this trend into a second half, the team will walk away with a victory for a second year in a row.

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WATCH: Demario Davis delivers his Week 2 pregame speech

Watch Demario Davis deliver his pregame speech ahead of the Saints’ Week 2 matchup with the Cowboys:

The New Orleans Saints have made it to Week 2 with a 1-0 record and now are on the road to take on the Dallas Cowboys. With that, we check out our weekly pregame speech from legendary linebacker Demario Davis, who looked to get the team pumped up for this crucial matchup.

A tradition started by none other than Saints legend Drew Brees, the pregame speech was then handed down to another elite player in Demario Davis upon the retirement of Brees after the 2020 season. Davis has been an extremely vocal leader of the Saints on the sideline, and it was only right that this be passed down to him as he continues to get the Saints ready for every game with the same fiery passion as always.

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A.T. Perry is a healthy scratch for Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys

The New Orleans Saints opted to make A.T. Perry a healthy scratch entering Week 2’s Dallas Cowboys game after he missed Week 1 with a hand injury:

The New Orleans Saints have been moving their wide receiver corps around all offseason and preseason, trying to find out the best mix of players for their roster. Ultimately, that led to A.T. Perry being marked as a healthy scratch for Week 2, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. This comes after Perry practiced without limitation the whole week, though he missed Week 1’s game due to a hand injury.

This is somewhat surprising after Perry suited up for 10 games last season, starting three, and was impressive in his playing time given. However, in preseason there were times when other players were getting opportunities over him, especially in the game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Could this just be injury management and ensuring he is completely healthy before he gets any run time? Maybe. Could it also be the Saints saying they really like what they have in guys like Bub Means and Mason Tipton over Perry? Also maybe. Who knows the thought process here, but ultimately the decision has been made, at least this week, to go away from Perry and stick with the receiver room they had for Week 1.

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