Saints QB Derek Carr sends urgent message after 'cool' start

Derek Carr and the Saints have been lighting up opposing defenses so far this season, which Carr thinks is "cool."

There are a lot of ways to describe the New Orleans Saints' 2-0 start to the 2024 NFL season. Some would say “surprising,” others “incredible.” Derek Carr? Well, the Saints quarterback thinks it's all very “cool.”

Through the first two games of the season, New Orleans has dominated each of its opponents. In Week 1, Carr and the Saints dominated their NFC South rival Carolina Panthers 47-10. A wide margin to be sure, but a win was largely expected against Carolina. But the performance New Orleans put in against the Dallas Cowboys proved stunning in how thorough of a beatdown it was.

Carr completed only 11 passes on Sunday in Arlington, Texas, but that was all he needed. The QB went 11-for-16 and threw for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to a 44-19 shellacking of Dallas. The Saints, in particular, dominated on the ground — while the Cowboys could only manage 68 rushing yards, the Saints went for 190 yards and 4 touchdowns, most of which courtesy of running back Alvin Kamara.

Carr, who is in his second season in New Orleans, wisely understands that his team's early offensive explosion and 2-0 start does not mean much for the upcoming games.

“It's hard to score that many times in this league,” Carr said, via John DeShazier. “Obviously, you want to continue to do that. You want to keep putting pressure on defenses and things like that.
“You see the stats, you see the numbers out there for the whole offense and where it's been in history and all that kind of stuff, and it's cool. But at the same time, it doesn't mean anything this week.”

Derek Carr, Saints host Eagles this weekend

Looking ahead, the New Orleans Saints have the Philadelphia Eagles next. On “Monday Night Football,” the Eagles blew a late lead, allowing the Atlanta Falcons, another NFC South rival of the Saints, to steal a game in Philadelphia.

Through the first two games of the year, the Eagles rank third-worst in the NFL in yards allowed, sixth-worst in scoring defense, fifth-worst in passing yards and touchdowns allowed, eighth-worst in rushing yards allowed, and dead-last in rushing yards per attempt allowed.

Conversely, the Saints unsurprisingly rank at or near the top of many offensive statistical categories — New Orleans is top five in the league in points scored, yards gained, passing touchdowns, net passing yards per attempt, rush attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns.

The Saints and Eagles will kick off at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.