The Carolina Panthers will be hosting the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Both teams are coming into the game with a 1-0 record. What will help determine the winner or loser between these rivals are the individual matchups. These are four battles to watch throughout the game.
1. RB Christian McCaffrey vs. LB Demario Davis – Davis was asked a few seasons ago about what it would take to defend McCaffrey. He stated that it would take a “collective effort.”
It is going to take a team effort to neutralize all-purpose back McCaffrey. McCaffrey caught an impressive nine balls for 89 yards in the passing game and was the key contributor in moving the chains in Week 1.
Davis will have to play a key role in slowing down the Panthers’ offense. Most of those receptions by McCaffrey came from behind the line of scrimmage or from short distances. On seven of those receptions, QB Sam Darnold was able to utilize the middle of the field.
New Orleans’ defense, led by Davis, will have to slow McCaffrey down in those areas of the field and cut Darnold off.
2. LB Jermaine Carter Jr. vs. RB Alvin Kamara – In his six career starts against the Panthers, Kamara has a total of 340 yards at 5.9 yards per rush with six scores. He has also caught 34 passes for 238 additional yards.
Kamara, a two-time Pro Bowler, loves going up against the Panthers. To contain him, Carter and running mate Shaq Thompson will have to limit his catches in the passing game and finish their tackling responsibilities on the shifty and hard-to-bring-down Kamara.
3. RT Taylor Moton vs. DE Cameron Jordan – Jordan, who has been in the NFL for ten seasons, seems like he has not lost a step. He has averaged 12 sacks over the last four seasons coming into 2021, helping lead what has become one of the NFL’s signature defenses.
Moton, who just received a long-term contract, will be responsible for limiting the sack total on Sunday. Moton is very familiar with Jordan. He will have to keep pressure off Darnold to give him time in the pocket.
It should be noted that on Thursday, Moton was added to the injury report with a groin injury. He was limited in practice and his status for Sunday is unknown.
4. OC Joe Brady vs. the red zone – Even with Drew Brees newly retired and Jameis Winston at the signal caller position, it will be hard to beat the Saints with just 3-point attempts. You need touchdowns.
Whether you blame the quarterback play of Teddy Bridgewater from the 2020 season and the fact that McCaffrey missed the majority of the season (13 games), Carolina was abysmal in the red zone. They scored touchdowns on just over half (50.9) of their red zone trips, ranking them 28th in the NFL.
In the preseason, those struggles reared their ugly head again and now they are bleeding over into the regular season. In their four red zone attempts last Sunday against the Jets, only one netted them six points. Brady has to call a better game inside the red zone to get better results.
