The New Orleans Saints secured their second win of the season on Sunday and have officially avoided only the second one-win season in franchise history. Their key to victory? Stopping Rico Dowdle.
Against the Saints, the Panthers running back had only 53 rushing yards on 18 carries, a season low for him when he's been the starter for the black and blue. His highlight was a lone touchdown on Sunday from close range. Dowdle was Carolina's only hope of a win. Unfortunately for them, the New Orleans defense had other plans.
Following the loss, Dowdle said multiple times that the Saints went about their business better than the Panthers did. "They did a good job. They had a great plan for our run game," he said to the media. "They executed better than us."
The Saints' defense helped the team to their second win of the season
Now this is something that I was saying heading into the game. If you hone in on one of the best rushers in the National Football League, the rest of the offense will have to step up. However, I didn't expect the rest of the Panthers offense, particularly Bryce Young and the passing game, to be as underwhelming as they were. The former #1 overall had only 124 passing yards and an interception on the day while also being sacked twice.
However, that's not to say that it was the Panthers shooting themselves in the foot. The Saints defense had one of their best performances of the season Sunday afternoon in Charlotte. Restricting Dowdle, who up to that point was averaging 130 rushing yards a game, to only 53, is a real achievement.
Unfortunately for the New Orleans defense, though, their next opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, also has one of the best running backs in the NFL in Bijan Robinson. They're going to have to replicate their performance from this past weekend if they hope to secure a win against their biggest rival.