New Orleans Saints go 0-2 with 35-27 loss to Carolina Panthers
It may be too early to say that the New Orleans Saints are in a crisis but things certainly do seem bleak after the defending National Football Conference (NFC) South division champions succumbed to a second straight defeat on Sunday against the Carolina
Panthers.
In week 1 quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints were surprisingly beaten by the Washington Redskins while this game once again reinforced the flaws of the 2012/13 Saints team.
Brees for the second game in a row threw two interceptions one of which was returned for a touchdown as the Carolina Panthers kept him quiet for much of the game.
Defence was not much better for the Saints as quarterback Cam Newton dominated proceedings rushing for a career high 71 yards while throwing a single touchdown pass to lead Carolina to a dominating 35-27 win.
Interim coach Aaron Kromer sounded disappointed with the defence and said in his postgame interview:
"If you look at our defence, and you look at the two offenses we've played, we've played the most unconventional offenses in the National Football League, So do we have to do better against those styles of offenses? Yeah, we do. One thing we need to get
settled in on is on that style. But we've played two good offenses, and we just need to keep working at it and plugging away."
The defeats showcase that the Saints might struggle to defend their NFC South title or even reach the playoffs this year and their sputtering start to the 2012/13 system will have fans worried.
This is the first time in five years that the Saints have gone 0-2 with the last time being in 2007 in which they missed the playoffs with a poor 7-9 regular season record.
Unlike Brees, last season’s first overall draft pick Cam Newton was phenomenal showcasing both his throwing accuracy and his powerful runs.
Coach Ron Rivera was pleased at his side’s performance and praised the team after the game.
"The way we responded as a team this week was outstanding. I think the attitude, the effort was great."
This was the first time Carolina had beaten their rivals since 2009.
Brees started off brilliantly throwing the game’s first touchdown pass in the first quarter from the opening drive.
However, things went bad soon as Brees’ pass was intercepted by Charles Godfrey and was returned nine yards to bring the score to 7-7.
The Panthers then dominated proceedings into the third period scoring three touchdowns in the second and third quarters to put up a big 28-13 lead over the Saints.
Mark Ingram’s one-yard rushing touchdown gave some hope to the Saints early in the fourth quarter but Newton soon ended that too as he scored a five-yard rushing touchdown to make it 35-20.
Drew Brees tried the rush himself in the final two minutes and scored a touchdown but it was too little too late as the Saints succumbed to a second straight defeat.
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