New Orleans Saints NFL power rankings roundup, Week 3

Are we sure the NFC South is the worst division in football? Because the Bucs have beaten two NFC North teams, and they made Chicago look foolish for an afternoon, and Baker was baking against a Bears defense that had zero answers.

The defense looks to be in midseason form, having held 10 consecutive opponents to 20 points or fewer. The offense does not, but QB Derek Carr is still acclimating and awaiting Alvin Kamara’s return – which could be key given New Orleans’ depleted running back room.

The Saints went the first 118-plus minutes of the season without allowing a touchdown — against the Panthers on Monday, they became the final NFL team to surrender one this season. That’s a testament to how good their defense is, but it’s been a lot more effort on offense. Depending on the severity of the Jamaal Williams injury, New Orleans could be a little shorthanded in Green Bay on Sunday, with Alvin Kamara still suspended for another game. Tony Jones Jr. gave the Saints a spark in short-yardage situations, but they might need more big pass plays like the ones they got from Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed late in Week 2. You can see Derek Carr‘s frustration at times, but this passing game is still getting its timing down.

Their defense is going to win a lot of games for them. The offense needs to do more, but that defense has a nasty look about it.

The Saints have some explosive players. They’re going to have to figure out why they’re not turning yards into more points though. For the second straight week it felt like they should have scored way more. But they’ll gladly take the 2-0 start.

September wins are money in the bank, and the Saints are squirreling away victories that could make a huge difference in January.

The New Orleans Saints aren’t a great football team, but that’s not necessary to win the NFC South. As long as Derek Carr protects the football and the Saints’ defense keeps playing at a high level, New Orleans has a shot at double-digit wins thanks to one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. We saw this to an extent Week 2 against a bad Panthers team with the Saints holding serve on the road by the score of 20-17. We’re still concerned about the lack of success in the red zone through two games (3-of-7 on the season).

The New Orleans Saints are raising winning ugly to something of an art form. But just like their NFC South counterparts in Atalanta and Tampa Bay, the Saints are a surprising 2-0 after outlasting the Panthers in Carolina.

Mind you, this wasn’t a game where the Saints played especially well. Derek Carr completed 21 of 36 passes for 228 yards with an interception and a passer rating that barely cleared 65. The Saints amassed 134 yards on the ground, but it took 33 carries to do so.

However, while the Saints were faltering offensively again, the defense stepped up. New Orleans held the Panthers to just 239 yards of offense and 14 first downs. The Panthers converted just four of 14 third down attempts.

OK, so the Saints aren’t getting it done with offense. New Orleans is averaging 18 points per game, which ranks 26th in the league. But how about Derek Carr? The new Saints quarterback is averaging 7.7 yards per attempt, which ranks fifth in the league so far. Second-year wide receiver Chris Olave already has 198 receiving yards.