Week 3 is already here. The New Orleans Saints (1-1) aren’t dead yet, and the Carolina Panthers (0-2) are going to make a fight of it in proving their season isn’t already over, either. Games between these two NFC South rivals are almost always intense. As much as this may look like a perfect “get right” opportunity for New Orleans, it’s worth noting that they lost to this team in this stadium early last year. The Saints can’t take anything for granted as they look to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) in pursuit of the NFC South division title. Are the Atlanta Falcons (0-2) alright down there?
But let’s keep focus on this matchup. Here’s what you need to know about the Week 3 Saints-Panthers game:
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Game information
When: Sunday, Sept. 22 at 12:00 p.m. CT
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
TV: FOX
Streaming: You can also tune in online with NFL Game Pass and FuboTV (try it for free), as well as the new NFL+ service on your phone or tablet
Broadcast map, via 506sports.com:
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The referee: Carl Cheffers
The Saints are 14-2 in games that Cheffers has officiated as a referee, most recently working with him in last year’s season opener against the Green Bay Packers in Jacksonville. But while the Saints do have a history of success with Cheffers on the scene, his crew is still one of the NFL’s most penalty-prone units around: they’re coming off of a Broncos-Texans game in which 21 flags were thrown, racking up 194 yards. Cheffers’ crew led the league last year with 237 fouls, an average of 13.9 per game.
We’ve seen a lot of flags in two Saints games already. They’ve drawn 17 fouls (third-most) for 159 penalty yards (fourth-most) so far, while benefiting from 16 penalties (fifth-most) and 156 yards (fourth-most) against their opponents. It’s frustrating to see so many penalty flags going against them, but at least the other team is getting fouled just as often.
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Last meeting: New Orleans 18, Carolina 10 (Jan. 2, 2022)
The Saints needed this win just to keep their heads above water, but they didn’t pull away from the Panthers until the second half. Brett Maher booted a 33-yard field goal early in the third quarter to take the lead, 12-10, and an Alvin Kamara touchdown catch from Taysom Hill midway through the fourth quarter sealed it. Maher missed the extra point attempt, though, leading to an odd final tally of 18-10.
It was a huge game for Cameron Jordan and the Saints defense, though — Jordan sacked Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold 3.5 times, with defensive backs C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jeff Heath, and P.J. Williams each bagging sacks, as did linebacker Kwon Alexander (who split his with Jordan). They’ll be hoping for similar production against Baker Mayfield on Sunday given the pass rush’s slow start to the 2022 season. New Orleans leads the all-time series 29-26.
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Panthers QB: Baker Mayfield
Mayfield was traded to Carolina during the offseason and hoped for a fresh start, but he’s posted a lower completion percentage (53.6%), touchdown rate (3.6%), and the second-lowest quarterback rating (78.8) and adjusted net yards per pass attempt (5.34) of his career. His sack rate (9.7%) is the highest it’s ever been. He’s been a poor fit in Matt Rhule’s offense. He’s also facing a tough challenge against the Saints defense this week. Maybe he surprises us (Mayfield has never played against New Orleans; he hadn’t yet won the starting job when the Browns visited in his rookie year) but it’s looking grim for him.
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Panthers players to watch
RB Christian McCaffrey: The injury-prone running back is already up to 33 touches in two weeks (two other pass attempts sent his way fell incomplete), and for his part he’s playing well. McCaffrey is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and he’s converted a first down on a couple of receptions. He’ll be a big test for Saints standout linebacker Pete Werner.
DE Brian Burns: Dangerous on both running and passing downs, Burns has already racked up 6 quarterback pressures and several tackles for loss through the first two weeks. He rushes just as often off the left edge as the right side, so he’ll be challenging both Ryan Ramczyk and James Hurst on Sunday.
WR D.J. Moore: Moore runs more routes than anyone for Carolina, but he’s struggled to get off to as strong a start (with 6 catches for 86 yards) as his teammate Robbie Anderson (8 catches for 134 yards). Moore does move around a bit, sometimes lining up in the slot, so he should have some good battles with Justin Evans and the other defensive backs stepping into that role.
S Xavier Woods: Woods turned out to be a really nice free agent signing for the Panthers, making plays on passing downs (2 pressures, one of them a sack, plus a pass breakup) and on running downs (9 tackles at an average depth of 8.3 yards, with just 2 misses).
RT Taylor Moton: Moton is usually strong in pass protection, but he’s tied for the second-most pressures allowed through two games (4, trailing only rookie left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who has yielded 7). He’s going to be Cameron Jordan’s main competition on Sunday, and the guy Jordan needs to beat if he’s going to repeat last year’s strong performance.
CB Jaycee Horn: Carolina’s leader in snaps played at cornerback (105), Horn is still looking to rebound from an injury-shortened rookie season, and things have been kind of up-and-down for him. He’s the Panthers leader in defensive penalties (3) and 5 of the 8 targets thrown into his coverage have been completed, but they’ve gained just 35 yards without converting a first down. He’ll be a nice challenge for Michael Thomas and the Saints receiving corps.
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Injury report
Just two players were listed on the first Panthers injury report of the week: cornerback Donte Jackson, who was limited with a hamstring injury, and running back Christian McCaffrey, who was held out of Wednesday’s practice as a rest day.
And while the Saints did list nine players on their own initial injury report, they were all limited in practice — including starting cornerback Paulson Adebo, who missed the first two games with an ankle injury. We’ll see if he improves well enough to play on Sunday. Other starters managing injuries include running back Alvin Kamara (rib), right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (elbow), tight end Taysom Hill (rib), and safety Marcus Maye (rib), as well as quarterback Jameis Winston (back/ankle). We’ll monitor their progress throughout the week.
