The Saints face the frightening prospect of ending their losing streak with a unit that's still shorthanded and has struggled in recent weeks.
The 1-7 Carolina Panthers host the 2-6 New Orleans Saints this afternoon in an underwhelming matchup between two underwhelming teams. New Orleans owns a 32-28 all-time series lead between these teams and has won 12 of the last 16 meetings, including a 47-10 thrashing on opening weekend. That also includes a 15-14 record in Carolina, where the Saints have won five of their last seven trips.
Believe it or not, New Orleans might have to beat Carolina with their offense. It's a unit that was beginning to get healthy last week with the return of Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, and two offensive linemen. This week, quarterback Derek Carr is also back after a three-game injury absence. However, the Saints then lost running backs Kendre Miller and Jamaal Williams along with WR Bub Means in last week's loss.
This was especially evident last week against the Chargers. New Orleans made the right decision in giving rookie fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler a third straight start. It was also extremely evident that the Saints had absolutely no confidence or faith in Rattler or his supporting cast. With that the case, one must wonder why they didn't start Jake Haener or a more proven Taysom Hill behind center.
The Saints will still be without one of their best receivers in Rashid Shaheed and best blocker in C Erik McCoy. Even with guards Cesar Ruiz and Lucas Patrick back, the offensive line had an abysmal performance against the Chargers. This needs to change drastically if the Saints are to get anything accomplished offensively.
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