The New Orleans Saints just stomped the Carolina Panthers in the season opener, but Week 2 will be a far different story. The team will meet with the Dallas Cowboys, one of the better teams in the league and one of two NFC East opponents that the team will have to square off within the next two weeks.
Last Weekend Was Interesting For Both Teams
The Saints all-around had things to be positive about following their 47-10 win against the Panthers. They opened the game to a 30-0 lead with multiple takeaways thanks to their defense, scored on nine straight offensive possessions, and if it weren’t for a late slip on a long return, Rashid Shaheed would have a punt return under his belt already. It was one of the most lopsided season openers the league has ever seen, but you can bet it won’t be the same this weekend.
The Cowboys took on the Cleveland Browns in their season opener and beat them 33-17 in a game that wasn’t close the majority of the time. Dallas took an early lead and never looked back, with their whole squad getting involved. Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence combined for three sacks, with Eric Kendricks getting two more and an interception. In total, Dallas had six sacks, forced a few turnovers, and got their playmakers the ball with CeeDee Lamb having a strong outing.
The New Orleans Saints Offensive Line Matchup Is Tough
When we’re looking at this upcoming meeting, there is one thing that continues to stand out to me. That would be the matchup between the Saint’s offensive line and the Cowboys’ defensive line. New Orlean’s front line held up excellently in the season opener against the Panthers, though this Cowboys group is a far steeper test with Parsons and Lawrence featuring on it. A team that got six sacks just one week ago, will be preparing to tee off on a Saints offensive line that everybody had worries about coming into the season. Sure, they played great last week, but every week is a new start. They can’t get complacent, otherwise we’ll see Derek Carr on the turf quite a bit with the ground game being taken away entirely.
Keep It Close
The absolute last thing that this Saints team needs is to fall behind early and have their ground game taken away. If New Orleans can find a way to run the football and keep up with Dallas early on, then we will have a ball game. If Dallas opens by forcing multiple three-and-outs on the Saints, while scoring early on this defense, then we might have some very big problems. Dallas loves to play with a lead, so New Orleans can win this game by refusing to let them break the game open before either team gets into a rhythm.
This is going to be a very telling game for both teams. If the Saints come out of this with a victory, then the entire league would be put on notice about this new-look roster. If they come out of this with even a one-possession loss, then the fan base would be happy with how the team looked. The only downside would be if they got completely tossed around, as it would mark little improvement over last season and display to the world that the opener was only due to the Panthers’ ineptitude. New Orleans has to be ready for the fight of their lives on the road.