The New Orleans Saints didn't exactly enter the 2023 NFL season to much fanfare; they finished last year with a 7-10 record, and they didn't exactly bolster the lineup with groundbreaking additions, save for, perhaps, the signing of quarterback Derek Carr. But here the Saints are on cloud nine after their rock-solid 20-17 win over the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.
But Carr dropped a stern warning to the NFL, saying that the Saints may be a more dangerous team in the coming weeks especially as the team's crucial players become more accustomed to playing with each other.
“We're 2-0 and I don't think we've played at the level that we're all expecting to play at yet… we're going to keep working and make those corrections, but it feels good to do it with a win,” Carr said, per the Saints' official Twitter (X) account.
It's clear that the Saints aren't yet playing their best football. Derek Carr, in particular, has a ton of room for improvement; he completed just 21 of his 36 passing attempts on the night, good for a total of 228 yards, and he didn't throw a touchdown to even out the one interception he gave away.
Even the 32-year old quarterback acknowledged that he was at fault for some of the scoring opportunities the Saints failed to capitalize on, which thankfully didn't bite them in the behind in their win over the Panthers.
“We had a few opportunities… you know, a missed throw, we had one in the back of the end zone that we almost had. That's a tough play. We had another one where I was expecting [my receiver] to look and he [didn't]. Just timing of things… there's so much we have to clean up,” Carr added.
We shall see if Derek Carr and the Saints can learn from their mistakes against the Panthers when they take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 3.