The New Orleans Saints victory may have set a tone for the rest of the season. No matter how you put it, they are true NFC contenders. The victory helped push the team in the number 2 spot in the NFC. The team also increased the chances of clinching the NFC South division. With the victory, there are a few takeaways from the New Orleans Saints-Carolina Panthers game.
Takeaways From New Orleans Saints-Carolina Panthers in Week 12
Perseverance: The team showed they can still pound out a victory while staring down the face of defeat. This win was a rather ugly victory. Sean Payton admitted it wasn’t the best game played.
Penalties were ridiculous: We can go on and on about how this team seems to always get the short end of the stick. They received some bogus calls, but they also caused some unnecessary penalties.
- Erik McCoy’s lag on a play: The offense received a false start on a play because everyone moved but Erik McCoy. I don’t know what happened, but it seemed the center either spaced out or it was just difficult to hear.
- Holding Penalties- The Saints seemed to shoot their selves down plenty of times on both sides of the field. There were entirely too many holding penalties to count.
- Offensive Pass Interference: On a rare occasion, offensive pass interferences happen. Michael Thomas saw himself the culprit of one during this matchup. The call was rather sketchy as both Thomas and his defender were both in contact with one another before the ball made it in that area.
Shifty Calls- Listen, it is not often I doubt the plays the Saints choose to call, but on a fourth and inches, they elect to go for it with a handoff to Alvin Kamara. Kamara was having a good night by this time, but normally, this would have been a play to introduce Taysom Hill as quarterback. This would have been a time to let him run or even call a short slant pass. Hill is stout at 220 lbs. It is hard for players to stop him.
Another play the team could have called was a quarterback by Brees. It was literal inches so Brees could have stretched it out. Though, with the defense attempting to strip the ball on some plays, I understand why this play wasn’t called.
Next Up
The Saints will travel to the Falcons territory for the Thursday night game on Thanksgiving. This will be a chance of sweet revenge as the Falcons won the previous matchup, 26-9. The Falcons kept the Saints from scoring a touchdown in the duration of the game. Many will think this game should be a cakewalk with the Falcons’ record, but the previous game makes it safe to say the division games are always different. It will be interesting to see how the Saints respond.
It is possible the Saints will be working without Marshon Lattimore, who was out with a hamstring injury. This means Chauncey Gardner-Johnson will continue to be utilized. The secondary will have a difficult time stopping Matt Ryan and his pass game. Lastly, expect the Saints new defensive duo, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, to bring the pressure.
Tune in Thursday night for this Who Dat matchup.
