Best quarterbacks Saints will face in 2024, and how to beat them

While we don't know what the New Orleans Saints schedule will look like for the 2024 season, we know what teams they'll be facing. As it turns out, the Saints will have their hands full with some difficult quarterbacks.

This year will see the Saints face the AFC West and NFC East as well as the second-place teams from the NFC North and NFC West. That means that the Saints will have to figure out ways to slow down quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, and Jalen Hurts during the course of the 2024 season.

Let's take a look at how the Saints can beat some of the toughest quarterbacks on their schedule this year.

Patrick Mahomes

The Saints play the entire AFC West this year so that means they'll be squaring off against the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2024 season. The Chiefs have had the Saints' number in recent years, winning the last three match-ups. Of course, only one of those match-ups included Patrick Mahomes as the Chiefs quarterback and KC won that game 32-29 during the 2020 season.

Mahomes has won three Super Bowls during his time in the NFL and he's without a doubt the best quarterback in the league. There's no clear way to beat him considering very few teams have been able to when it matters the most so the best way for the Saints to beat Mahomes is to play a near perfect game and hope that they can beat the rest of the Chiefs.

Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford is entering his fourth season with the Los Angeles Rams, a team that Saints fans are still quite salty with after the infamous no-call in the NFC Championship Game in the 2018 season. Beating the Rams always feels sweeter even if it doesn't change history.

That being said, Stafford was largely forgotten about following a disappointing 2022 season where he missed half the season and the Rams went on to win just three games with him under center. Stafford bounced back in the 2023 season, however, throwing for just shy of 4,000 yards and 24 touchdowns and helping the Rams make the playoffs.

For the Saints to have a shot at knocking down Stafford and the Rams, they should pay attention to what Aaron Schatz of ESPN said was his weakness. Now, of course, this was written in December and the Rams finished on a high note but at the time, Schatz said Stafford's weakness came against the blitz.

The Saints' best bet at throwing Stafford off his game is to send pressure and to also bottle up his two best weapons in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

Dak Prescott

The Saints and Cowboys will meet during the 2024 season and that means NOLA will have to find a way to slow down Dak Prescott. The Cowboys quarterback had a bounce back season in 2023 after throwing 15 interceptions in 12 games the year prior. Prescott bounced back with a vengeance, throwing for 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading the 'Boys to an NFC East title.

Before the 2023 season began, PFF listed the biggest red flag for every quarterback in the league. For Prescott, it was "Dependency", noting that he plays well when things around him are going well and struggles when things aren't going so great. This could be the case for a lot of quarterbacks but for the Saints to give Prescott a tough time, they need to make sure his best weapons are limited.