Saints kick off the season with a bang, dismantling Panthers. What Happened?

The Saints defeated the Panthers 47-10 in the regular season opener.

Analysis

If you're a Saints fan you couldn't have asked for a better start to the season.

The offensive line held up fairly well throughout the game. Trevor Penning was not an obvious weakness, and was the lead blocker on some runs. Rookie Taliese Fuaga also had a good showing.

The run game was spectacular. Alvin Kamara finished with 83 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Jamaal Williams also matched his 2023 season touchdown total, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown run. Taysom Hill was also an effective runner and averaged 7 yards on five carries.

Derek Carr finished 19-of-23 (82.6%) for 200 yards with 3 TDs and no turnovers. His first touchdown was a 59-yard bomb to Rashid Shaheed on the opening drive.

Alontae Taylor picked up where he left off in training camp with a dominant performance. He had three sacks, a pass breakup and five solo tackles.

Safties Jordan Howden, Tyrann Mathieu and Will Harris all created turnovers in today's game. Harris and Howden both intercepted Bryce Young, while Mathieu forced and recovered a fumble.

What the coach is saying

Dennis Allen's key point:

The Saints keep their season opener win streak alive with their dominant performance against the Carolina Panthers. The Klint Kubiak era couldn’t have started any better. In particular, the run game and usage of Alvin Kamara stood out. Allen feels the ability to run the football was a key piece to the win against the Carolina Panthers. “If you’re able to run the football it sets up so many more things that you can do,” Allen said “When you’re able to run the football, it’s easier to pass protect. When you’re able to run the football, you have the ability to utilize a play-action passing game, and so, it just makes the defense have to defend everything. That was positive in this game and we’ve got to try to build on that.”

What the players are saying

Jordan Howden's key point:

Despite not starting at safety, Howden made sure to make a play when given the opportunity. He created the third turnover of the game intercepting Bryce Young. He said he went into the game knowing he had to create a turnover. “Last year I was the only one in the position group without a pick, this year I made it an emphasis that I have to be one of those dudes that go out there to go get that ball,” Howden said. “I got the opportunity to go get it and made the play. Anybody from the D-line, linebackers and DBs if we make a play we all celebrate it because this game, it’s not easy everybody has been grinding for this moment so we always give props to everybody who makes that play.”

Trevor Penning's key points:

Throughout the offseason, the biggest question mark for the Saints has been Trevor Penning. Getting moved to right tackle hasn’t been the easiest transition, but after the first regular season game, he’s taken a step toward figuring it out. “We’re just going to keep working, next week is a new week. We’re going to go to Dallas and try to do the same thing.”

During his rookie season, Penning made a name for himself by being a physically imposing player. On an Alvin Kamara run he led the charge clearing Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson out of the way on a 17-yard gain. “It’s fun, I’ve been waiting on a play like that,” Penning said. “We run it a lot in practice, but I was waiting for a play like that to go out there and go against a smaller guy, and take advantage of that.”

Taliese Fuaga's key point:

This year's offensive line is different from the unit that ended the season. Ryan Ramczyk is off recovering away from the team, while James Hurst retired earlier this year. First-round pick Fuaga was picked to fill the gap. Now with his first NFL regular season game under his belt, he uses his fellow offensive linemen as a resource. “It definitely felt good because we started off kind of hot,” Fuaga said. “It’s just a good group of guys with all these veterans on the O-Line. Erik McCoy kind of takes charge of the whole O-line. I think he does a great job of helping us and getting us started with each series. Definitely had nerves going into each series but he was there to help out, and any guard I play next to they help out so I think we’ll be all right.”