Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu shows love to Derek Carr
The New Orleans Saints have had an impressive start to their season. The Saints are undefeated and have dominated in wins against the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. Safety Tyrann Mathieu dropped a truth bomb on the NFL Network, Thursday morning about his quarterback, Derek Carr.
“Man, he's feeling good,” Mathieu said, smiling.
Mathieu is smiling with good cause. Not only are the Saints undefeated, but his quarterback is playing some of the best football in the entire league. Although Carr is only 13th in the NFL in passing yards, his completion percentage is top-tier. He only trails Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II in that category, and it's less than a percent difference.
Also, Carr is tied for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns with five, sharing the spot with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. The leaderboard continues to go in Carr's favor, as he has the highest passer rating by a wide margin (142.4, compared to Mayfield's 129.1).
Even though the numbers are there, it's only a two-game sample size. However, there's all the confidence in the world about Carr performing at a high level.
Is Saints' Tyrann Mathieu right about Derek Carr's success?
Carr has had plenty of success before arriving in New Orleans. He was third in the 2016 MVP voting with 3,937 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Carr also had seven game-winning drives that season. Unfortunately, he broke his fibula in Week 16 of that year and missed the rest of the season.
While he was still a good quarterback after that, his success with the Raiders was limited. Carr usually had a mid-to-bottom-tier defense, which made his life more difficult. Since joining the Saints, the veteran quarterback hasn't had to play hero ball all the time. In the 2023 season, New Orleans was top-10 in scoring defense and passing defense. The reliability on the defense front has allowed Carr to not worry about having to score a touchdown every possession.
The Saints have played well on both sides of the ball. The defense has five total turnovers in two games and Mathieu has helped lead the way. So far, New Orleans is top-10 in least rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and sacks. A dominant defensive line, along with a veteran secondary is paying dividends for a Saints team looking to capitalize on a vulnerable NFC South division.
New Orleans will look to extend its winning streak as they take on the Philadelphia Week in a Week 3 clash.
