Panthers at Saints: 3 things we learned
By John Buhler
The New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 6, 41-38. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this NFC South rivalry game on Sunday.
The New Orleans Saints move to 2-3 on the year by winning a shootout at home over the rival Carolina Panthers, 41-38. New Orleans is all about the high-scoring game with Sean Payton as its head coach. The Saints look a little better than many of us expected in 2016.
For the Panthers, it’s all shades of awful. Carolina falls to 1-5 on the year and panic is in the air in Charlotte in mid-October. It’s crazy to think this is the same franchise that went 15-1 in 2015 en route to Super Bowl 50.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Saints’ victory over the Panthers in Week 6:
1. It’s over for the 2016 Panthers
It’s time to cross off the 2016 Panthers from having any shot at making the NFC Playoffs. Their three-year reign over the NFC South is over and it’s not even November yet. The Panthers are 1-5 and all they have going for them is next spring’s NFL Draft. Carolina will be picking in the top 10.
What’s killing the 2016 Panthers is that they have the worst secondary in football. In a game with two atrocious secondaries, it was the Saints that came out on top. All Carolina does is give up yards through the air, rendering star linebackers Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson essentially useless.
Outside of Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers can’t run the football. Without having that offensive luxury, they aren’t the same football team when they have the ball. This team can still win games this season, but the NFC Playoffs are now just a pipe dream for the Carolina faithful.
2. Drew Brees doesn’t age
Drew Brees is apparently going to play forever because the Saints quarterback doesn’t seem to age. He is in his late 30s, but is still more than capable of lighting up a week secondary at home. Brees threw for 465 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception against the Panthers’ awful secondary.
Brees has clearly found the Fountain of Youth that Ponce De Leon was looking for. Can he quarterback in the NFL at a high level until his mid-40s? Maybe, as it doesn’t seem like his skill set is going to fall off a cliff any time soon.
The Saints don’t have a lot of elite players, but Brees is one of the eight best quarterbacks to have ever played in the NFL. Cherish these Sundays, Saints fans. Who knows how long Brees is going to be able to carry the Saints like this? He’s an all-timer.
3. Ron Rivera is now on the hot seat
This is the most shocking statement of the 2016 NFL season so far: Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is now on the hot seat. How is this possible? He won the NFC South three years in a row and made it to Super Bowl 50 just last year.
We are in this predicament because Rivera’s Panthers are 1-5 and one of the very worst teams in the NFL. He’s clearly lost the locker room. Carolina is a momentum team and they aren’t able to play top-notch defense for this former Pro Bowl linebacker with the Chicago Bears.
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Every January, roughly eight NFL head coaches lose their jobs. Is it crazy enough to think that Rivera will be one of them? Mike Smith did keep his job in Atlanta in 2013 and 2014 after winning just 10 combined games. Rivera’s track record should give him the benefit of the doubt, but Carolina’s front office has a tendency to be impish and impulsive. Riverboat Ron is now on the hot seat.