The New Orleans Saints must force Will Grier to beat them

The New Orleans Saints will take their talents to Carolina to take on the Panthers, and they must force QB Will Grier to beat them.

The gameplan when facing the Carolina Panthers has been the same from the start of the season to the end, and when these two teams met the first time around, the New Orleans Saints executed it perfectly.

They forced then-starting QB Kyle Allen to beat them. Sadly, that’s exactly what he did. While the Panthers didn’t actually win the game, they, with just minutes remaining, shanked a game-winning field goal.

The Saints then drove the field and let Wil Lutz take care of business. Well, the Panthers gameplan was a success, and it’s difficult to see the Saints doing anything different this time around.

They must limit superstar running back Christian McCaffrey.

For the bulk of the season, he’s been their only reliable offense threat. A top-ten draft pick in 2017, McCaffrey is entering Week 17 with 1,361 rushing yards and 933 receiving yards. He’s been a force to be reckoned with.

He’s six yards away from 2,300 all-purpose yards and has 18 touchdowns as well. McCaffrey, with 67 receiving yards, would be just the third player in NFL history to have four-digits yards in both the receiving and rushing game.

That’s why you have to force their quarterback to beat you.

Last time it was Kyle Allen. Against New Orleans, Allen has one of the best performances of his career. He had three touchdowns and zero picks. In his last three games, he averaged two interceptions per game.

Now, it’s Will Grier.

He has three interceptions in the team’s Week 16 matchup. Whether or not he’s the starting quarterback in Week 17 will also play a factor, but either way, the Saints need to prepare to shut down McCaffrey and let their quarterback beat them.

Shut down McCaffrey. Win the game. It worked Round 1, and it should work Round 2.