Tag: rivalry

Behind the numbers: Steelers versus Cowboys rivalry 

The historic rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys hits prime time this Sunday night. We at Steelers Wire dive into the numbers and stats that make this rivalry so special.

When fans think of some of the greatest rivalries in football, many are quick to point to divisional matchups, such as those in the AFC North, NFC North, and AFC West—and they would be correct. However, two opponents from completely opposite conferences, separated by over 1.2 thousand miles, share a rivalry so intense and competitive that it has withstood the test of time. 

A rivalry that has shaped careers, created playmakers, and defined legacies, walks a fine line between hatred and respect for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. Together, the Steelers and Cowboys have claimed a combined 11 Super Bowl titles and faced off in three of those games (Super Bowl X, XIII, XXX). 

Though Dallas won only one of these Super Bowls (XXX), they hold the edge in their overall head-to-head matchups, with 17 wins to Pittsburgh’s 16. This could all change if the Steelers can tie the rivalry after their Sunday Night Football game against Dallas in Week 5, on October 6th, at 8:20 PM EST. 

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Derek Carr has only beaten Patrick Mahomes once since the Chiefs drafted him

Former Raiders QB Derek Carr has only beaten Patrick Mahomes once since the Chiefs drafted him. The Saints can help rewrite that narrative:

The New Orleans Saints haven’t played the Kansas City Chiefs much in their history. The two teams have faced off only 12 times over the last 52 years. Saints’ quarterback Derek Carr on the other hand is extremely familiar with the Chiefs.

Familiarity isn’t always a good thing though. Carr began his career with the Las Vegas Raiders, so he shared a division with Kansas City and played them twice a year.  In that time frame, he has played the Chiefs more than the Saints have in their history.

The thing is, Carr has had minimal success. His record is 3-14, and the victories have obviously been sporadic. His last victory came in 2020, and it’s the only time Carr has defeated Patrick Mahomes.

Beyond wins and losses, Carr also averages an interception per contest and has thrown at least one in 7 of the last 8 games. Carr has thrown an interception in each of the Saints’ last 3 games as well.

History and trends do not appear to be on New Orleans’ side. The Saints, as an organization, have a losing record against the Chiefs as well. The record is much closer at 7-5, but it features three straight Chiefs victories.

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Steelers vs. Cowboys, Week 5: First ever Sunday Night Football meeting

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys rivalry goes head-to-head once more in their first ever Sunday Night Football meeting in Week 5.

Having a plethora of storied rivalries throughout hundreds of games played, the Steelers have rivals spanning from their American Football Conference to the other side of the coin, the National Football Conference.  There perhaps is no bigger AFC versus NFC rivalry than that of the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Dallas Cowboys.

This rivalry has played out for fans around the world 33 times, with the Cowboys currently leading in victories, 17-16.   One incredible record is three of these matchups have been Super Bowls, and no other teams have met more than twice in NFL history.

History will be surprisingly made again this Sunday, as Dallas travels to Pittsburgh for the first Sunday Night Football matchup in Steelers vs. Cowboys history.  Steelers fans will not want to miss this historic matchup, played out for the entire national audience to witness, with Pittsburgh having a chance to tie the matchup 17-17.

With plenty of intrigue, amazing storylines, and impressive matchups, witness the six-time Super Bowl Champs, the Steelers, taking on the five-time Super Bowl champions, the Cowboys, on October 6th at 8:20 PM EST.

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Derek Carr and Klint Kubiak must bounce back in Week 4 vs. Falcons

Derek Carr and Klint Kubiak must bounce back in Week 4. They’ve had a week to work on the problems that plagued them against the Eagles:

Derek Carr and Klint Kubiak are looking for bounce-back performances versus the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The New Orleans Saints’ offense was one of the biggest stories through the first two weeks of the season, but they fell flat against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3.

Rashid Shaheed was catching career-long touchdowns. Alvin Kamara was rejuvenated. The offense looked better than it ever had in the Dennis Allen era. But all of that stopped against the Eagles. Many of the Saints’ struggles could be tied to Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy leaving with an injury. Pressure from the interior disrupted the Saints’ entire plan, and they had a tough time making adjustments at the line without him.

That’s where Kubiak comes into focus. His play calling felt stagnant, and he didn’t appear to adjust to the Eagles’ defensive strategy. Philly took advantage of their unique personnel to match up with the Saints at the line of scrimmage, effectively fielding a 6-1 front that didn’t allow New Orleans’ blockers to get to their spots on run plays. When Carr dropped back to pass there were too many unblocked rushers.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see Atlanta attempt to implement a similar strategy. If the offense is stopped by it again, Kubiak has to display the ability to alter his play calling. That Eagles game is going to give every opponent on their schedule some valuable tape to study. The Saints had a ton  of success off working off play-action early on but they can’t rely on plays that take so long to develop with so many backups starting along the offensive line.

And Carr just needs to get the ball out faster. The pressure clearly affected him. He was well-protected the first two weeks, but he also remained unphased by closing defenders. He lost that cool in Week 3.

He will see more pressure than first pair of games but hopefully less than last week. Will he continue to step into throws or loft them? The latter got him in trouble versus the Eagles. If that happens again with the Falcons the Saints will fall to 2-2.

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Derek Carr explains why some players haven’t seen as many targets

Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed make up 66% of Derek Carr’s targets and 82% of his yards. Carr explained why he isn’t spreading the ball around as much:

The New Orleans Saints’ passing attack has been heavily concentrated on three weapons: Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. That trio has been the recipients of 29 of Derek Carr’s 44 completions this year. That’s 65.9% of his completions. They also make up 81.9% of Carr’s yards.

They’ve been essentially the entire passing offense. Foster Moreau is the next most productive receiving threat, and he only has five catches. Juwan Johnson has been less existent in the offense than projected.

Carr explains why this has been the case. Carr kept the explanation simple. The Saints haven’t passed the ball much. They are a run-first team.

The Saints were up big, early in Weeks 1 and 2. That leads to, “some guys maybe don’t get as many attempts as they normally would have.”

“We really haven’t thrown the ball a lot, just in attempts,” Carr said. Thee Saints quarterback ranks 28th in the NFL in attempts. Names like Tua Tagoviloa and Bryce Young are less than 10 attempts behind Carr despite playing one less game. Green Bay’s two starters this season combine for more than Carr.

“When there’s not as many attempts, targets for guys who aren’t first or second in the read go down,” Carr stated. Getting the ball out quickly has also been a point of emphasis given the state of his offensive line, so naturally players at the top of the read are going to get the ball more often.

He maintains it’s important to get others involved because it keeps the defense on their toes. They have to respect other players. Carr wants to make sure he’s walking the fine line of dispersing the ball and getting the top players the ball. Hopefully that strategy continues to do well against the Falcons this Sunday.

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Derek Carr’s little league team let him know ‘it’s Falcons week’

Derek Carr says his son’s little league team cares more about Sunday’s Saints-Falcons matchup than their own game:

Derek Carr is in his second year with the New Orleans Saints, and he is fully aware of how the rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons expands beyond the team’s practice facility and into the city.

He was reminded of that this week at his son’s football practice. Carr came to the Saints with New Orleans native, and former Raiders teammate, Foster Moreau. The duo have a good relationship, and they coach Carr’s sons’ little league team together.

Carr shared a funny story about how the upcoming little league game was secondary to the Saints’ upcoming game with the Falcons: “Every parent and every kid knows what week it is.”

Not only do they know what week it is, Carr says “they didn’t care about the game we’re about to play, like ‘Hey, it’s Falcons week.'”

This is a great example of what the game means to fans within the city. Who cares who the little league team is playing? Coach Carr needs to understand the only thing that matters is Saints versus Falcons.

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Cameron Jordan searching for his first sack vs. Falcons post-Matt Ryan

Cameron Jordan is searching for his first sack against the Falcons since they traded Matt Ryan. Maybe Kirk Cousins can help him end that drought:

No one in NFL history has sacked a single quarterback more than Cameron Jordan has sacked former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. With the New Orleans Saints traveling to Atlanta on Sunday, this feels like an appropriate time to remind all Falcons fans of this fact.

Jordan and Ryan were both NFL iron men. During their 11-year overlap in the NFC South, neither of them missed a Saints versus Falcons game. In those 22 matchups, Jordan took Ryan to the turf 24 times, though since he split two sacks with other players, his official count is just 23.

The most consistent stretch came slightly before Ryan left Atlanta for the Indianapolis Colts. Jordan registered three consecutive two-sack games. He failed to register a sack in the next game, then exploded for seven sacks in the following two games. This six-game stretch accounted for 13 of the 23 sacks against Ryan.

Oddly enough, Jordan hasn’t registered a sack against Atlanta since Ryan left in 2022. Kirk Cousins is closer to Ryan’s level of mobility (and Jordan has 3.5 sacks against Cousins in six matchups, including the playoffs), so maybe that could help Jordan end the drought.

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Cameron Jordan on Falcons hate week: ‘Five days of screw them’

Cameron Jordan gets it. It’s Falcons hate week. That goes for everyone on Atlanta’s side, from the fans to Terry Fontenot:

If the New Orleans Saints had a player spokesperson, Cameron Jordan is on the shortlist of players to choose from. He’s probably at the top of the shortlist. He’s one of the most personable players on the team, which you can see as he makes his rounds in the sports media landscape, and he embodies the culture. Those two aspects merged on his own show, as Jordan laid out what hate week is all about.

“When Atlanta comes up on our schedule, we’ve got hate week coming up. There’s going to be five days of ‘Screw them,'” Jordan said, via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

If you’re on that side, you’re an enemy for a week, and that includes Terry Fontenot. Jordan doesn’t spare anyone, continuing: “The coach, the city, the GM that used to work for us. Everybody’s got to get it, and the city feels that.'”

Jordan is spot on. The city and everyone involved with the Saints knows what time it is. It’s hate week. This isn’t uncommon to hear from fans, and Jordan is one of the few players it isn’t shocking to hear this from.

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Week 4 NFL broadcast maps: Will your station carry Saints vs. Falcons?

After being in two of the most-visible games in Week 2 and Week 3, the Saints’ next matchup with the Falcons will have a much smaller broadcast range:

The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons are both coming off devastating losses where the game was within reach until the last possession. Both teams will be looking for a bounce-back performance.

But the Saints take a slight step down in visibility this week. The reach of the broadcast is limited by FOX not having a double header in Week 4. The majority of the country is watching the San Francisco 49ers versus New England Patriots game at 3:25 p.m. CT.

Though it’s a late game that won’t overlap with the Saints game, the station can only show one game on Sunday, regardless of the time slot. This means the game will be shown from Louisiana to Georgia and some of the surrounding areas, according to 506 Sports.

The Saints and Falcons is a great rivalry that flies under the radar at times, so in ways it’s appropriate the game is a local show. The Saints have dominated this series as of recent and are looking to carry that tradition on.

Coverage of this week’s game is reflected in green on this map from 506 Sports. See if you’ll catch the broadcast from your local FOX affiliate station:

Saints have a better record at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium than the Falcons

Atlanta spent a lot of money building Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the Saints have a better record there than the Falcons do on their own home turf:

Atlanta spent a lot of money building Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta Falcons to play their home games, but it’s their rivals who have a better record there. Since the venue opened for the 2017 season, the New Orleans Saints have gone 5-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — a stunning win percentage of .714.

Those Saints victories included a 43-37 thriller in overtime in 2018 and a Thanksgiving Day rout in 2019. Last season’s loss was their first since the arena’s inaugural season.

Now compare it to the Falcons’ home record, which is one of the NFL’s worst since 2017: 27-32. That’s a win percentage of just .457. Only eight teams have won fewer home games since Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened its doors.

The next chapter in this long-running rivalry will be written on Sunday, when the Saints and Falcons kick off in Week 4. They’re both looking to keep pace in the NFC South title race but each team is dealing with similar troubles. Offensive line injuries have struck New Orleans (Erik McCoy is having sports hernia surgery, sidelining him for six to eight weeks) as well as Atlanta (the Falcons already put Drew Dalman on injured reserve and Kaleb McGary could be next). Whoever has the next man up playing well just might win the day.

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