Derek Carr and the Saints buck the NFL trend of early season offensive struggles

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The worst start to a season for passing offenses in years hasn't hit the New Orleans Saints.

While quarterbacks and offenses around the league have struggled to get going, Derek Carr and the Saints are clicking with an early efficiency that might not ever have been reached before in the NFL.

The Saints followed a 47-point outburst in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers by beating the Dallas Cowboys 44-19 on Sunday, becoming the fifth team to score at least 44 points in each of the first two games of a season.

New Orleans was the last team to do it in 2009 on the way to the franchise's only Super Bowl title, with the other three instances coming before the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. The Raiders did it in 1968, Detroit in 1962 and the Rock Island Independents in 1920 in the inaugural season in what is now known as the NFL.

The Saints, under new coordinator Klint Kubiak, scored on their first 15 drives of the season with Carr at quarterback, scoring on all nine drives in the opener before Carr was replaced by Jake Haener and then getting TDs on the first six possessions against the Cowboys before an interception ended that run.

Sportradar has tracked player participation since 2006 and no quarterback in that span had led 15 straight scoring drives at any point of a season. The longest streaks before Carr's for the Saints, excluding drives that ended with kneel downs at the end of a half or game, were a 13-drive streak for Drew Brees and the Saints in 2018 and streaks of 12 for Baltimore's Lamar Jackson in 2019 and New England's Tom Brady in 2007.

Carr and the Saints are the exception, with the 128 offensive touchdowns down 54 from the first two weeks in 2020 and tied for the second fewest in the last 18 seasons. The 193.6 net yards passing per game are the fewest through two weeks since 1996 (188.3).

While Carr has thrown for only 443 yards in the first two weeks thanks to blowouts that led to a heavy dose of runs, only five QBs have hit the 300-yard mark for the fewest 300-yard passing games in the first two weeks since 1996, when there were only three.

The situation isn't nearly so rosy for another NFC South team, with 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young having only 245 yards passing in two games combined, leading to his benching just two games into his second season.

Young was the 27th quarterback taken first overall in the common draft era and the first of those to lose his starting job in his second season for non-injury reasons.

Young's production has been anemic, with his career passer rating (70.9), touchdown passes (11) and yards per attempt (5.4) trailing the numbers through 18 starts of 2007 No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who is the epitome of a top-pick QB bust.

Young's 2-16 record is the third worst of any quarterback who has made at least 15 starts, and he went four straight starts dating to last season with no TD passes and fewer than 165 yards passing in each game. Only four other QBs had done that since 2000, with at least 12 attempts in each game.

While Young has struggled in Year 2, the rookie QBs haven't fared much better, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix combining for a 64.2 passer rating and no TD passes on 196 attempts.

That's the most attempts for rookie quarterbacks in the first two weeks without a TD since the merger, topping the 70 from 1970 when Terry Bradshaw was the top rookie.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have more wins than touchdowns this season in what can best be described as Mike Tomlin football.

After winning the opener against Atlanta on six field goals by Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh got into the end zone once on Sunday in a 13-6 win over Denver.

The Steelers are just the third team since at least 1960 to win the first two games of a season while scoring only one TD combined in those games. Detroit did it in 2000 and Buffalo in 1988.

The wins the first two weeks improved Tomlin's record as a coach to 42-40-1 (.512) when his team scores one offensive touchdown or fewer in a game. The rest of the NFL has a .227 winning percentage in that situation since Tomlin was hired in 2007, with no other coach with at least 10 tries having a winning record.

The New York Giants scored three touchdowns on Sunday against Washington, allowed none and somehow came out on the losing end of a 21-18 score.

How rare is that?

Extremely, it turns out.

The last time a team scored at least three touchdowns, gave up none and lost a game came on Nov. 5, 1989. On that day, Minnesota got seven field goals from Rich Karlis in regulation and beat the Rams 23-21 in overtime when the Vikings blocked a punt for a game-ending safety.

In all, there have been 1,235 times since 2000 that a team scored three more TDs than the opponent. The Giants are just the second of those teams to lose, with the other coming Oct. 21, 2007, when Houston fell 38-36 to Tennessee. The Titans got a record eight field goals from Rob Bironas and two TDs that day, while the Texans scored five touchdowns.

Nearly as unlikely was the comeback for Atlanta against Philadelphia on Monday night. The Falcons had a 0.7% chance of winning when they trailed 18-15 with 1:56 remaining and the Eagles had a first down at the Atlanta 17, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stat model.

But two runs followed by the Falcons' final two timeouts and then a dropped pass by Saquon Barkley on third down gave Atlanta a chance. Philadelphia opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-3 to go up six, setting the stage for Kirk Cousins to drive for the winning TD and the seventh-most improbable win as far back as NGS data goes to 2016.

The Green Bay Packers became the first team in NFL history to win 800 regular-season games when they topped the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 on Sunday.

The Bears franchise, which began as the Decatur Staleys in 1920, had been the winningest team in NFL history at the end of the league’s first 102 seasons before being passed by Green Bay in 2022.

Chicago is second with 794 wins. The only other team with at least 700 wins is the New York Giants with 721.

The Packers also have the most titles with 13, including three won in 1929-31 before the start of the playoffs.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) reacts after missing a pass on fourth down against the Washington Commanders late in the second half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs as New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin and Bobby Okereke (58) pursue during the first half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) falls after a short gain as Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) leaped over him during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws over Houston Texans defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. (97) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young leaves a news conference after their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr reacts after teammate Alvin Kamara scored a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Elias Pettersson tied it with 6:44 left and scored in the first round of a shootout, Conor Garland added the winner in the fourth round and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Pius Suter and Jake DeBrusk also scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 shots. Playing their lone road game in an eight-game stretch, the Canucks rebounded from consecutive home losses — the last a 4-2 setback against Montreal on Tuesday night.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice for Calgary in a 2:03 span late in the second period and had the Flames’ lone shootout score — in the third round. Nazem Kadri also scored, and Dustin Wolf made 28 saves.

RED WINGS 7, SABRES 3

DETROIT (AP) — Patrick Kane had two goals and three assists and Detroit snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over Buffalo.

Marco Kasper scored twice, and Moritz Seider, Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex DeBrincat also scored for Detroit. DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin added three assists each.

Petr Mrazek made 23 saves in his first start back with the Red Wings after being acquired from Chicago on Friday. He was selected by Detroit in the fifth round of the 2010 draft and played with the team for more than five seasons.

Josh Norris scored his first goal since being traded to the Sabres on Friday. Zach Benson and Tage Thompson also scored. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 22 shots.

UTAH 3, DUCKS 2

SALT LAKE CITY - Dylan Guenther broke a tie on a power play at 7:03 of the third period and Utah beat Anaheim.

Guenther beat goalie Ville Husso with a one-timer from the left side off a feed from defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Guenther has a career-high 24 goals this season.

Jack McBain and Alexander Kerfoot also scored to help Utah move within two points of the second wild card in the Western Conference. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.

Alex Killorn and Mason McTavish scored for Anaheim, and Husso stopped 36 shots.

KRAKEN 5, CANADIENS 4, OT

SEATTLE (AP) — Brandon Mountour had the fastest goal in NHL overtime history, scoring his second goal of the game four seconds into overtime to give Seattle a comeback victory over Montreal.

Chandler Stephenson won the faceoff, with the puck going to Montour. He streaked in on goalie Jakub Dobes and beat him with a shot to the upper-right corner. The goal matches the fastest to start any period in NHL history.

Seattle overcame two-goal deficit to tie it in the third period. Jani Nyman, making his NHL debut, scored on a power play with 9:07 left, and Matty Beniers tipped in a hard shot by Vince Dunn on a power play with 2:12 left to tie it at 4.

Montour also opened the scoring 4:14 into the game and had two assists. Eeli Tolvanan scored his career-high 19th for Seattle, and Joey Daccord made 21 saves.

Montreal scored four straight goals to take a 4-2 lead. Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice and Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook also connected. Dubes made 30 saves.

Vancouver Canucks' Jake DeBrusk, centre, and Calgary Flames' MacKenzie Weegar, left, scuffle as goalie Dustin Wolf follows the play during third period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)