The Saints were coming into what many viewed as a hopeless season. Instead, they’re 2-0 after two games, with over 40 points a game. How have they done it?
In a division where many saw the Bucs and Falcons as the favorites to hold the crown in 2024, the New Orleans Saints have gotten off to a fast start out of the blocks in the 2024 season. In two games against Carolina and Dallas, the team has put up nearly 46 points per game. with a rejuvenated Derek Carr under center. How have they done it? Well, it all starts with new Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak, the son of former NFL head Coach Gary Kubiak, is in his second stint as an OC. The first was in Minnesota for the 2021 season. Following that, Kubiak was the passing game coordinator for the Broncos and 49ers the last two years. Now Kubiak is dialing it up for Dennis Allen’s Saints. His approach? Run the football. The Saints have the highest run-pass ratio in the league, at a 62% run rate through two weeks.
Alvin Kamara has already amassed 198 yards and 4 TDs on the ground. In the passing game, Derek Carr has been kept clean on a whopping 81% of his dropbacks. On throws of 10-20 yards, Carr is 11-15 so far, showing a willingness to stretch the field with his comfort in a clean pocket. On the outside, Carr has both Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed at his disposal. Shaheed has 7 catches for nearly 200 yards and 2 scores, while Olave had a nice game Sunday with 4 catches for 82 yards.
When talking about the Saints rushing attack, it’s interesting to note where they are running. So far, the team has rushed for 271 yards on 48 runs outside the tackles. They are trying to get Kamara in space to use his elusiveness and agility to get free. A huge asset in the success of the offense as a whole is the Offensive Line. The unit ranks top 10 in both pass block win rate (9th) and run block win rate (2nd). According to PFF, they are top 4 in both. Sunday marked the most that an offense has lined up under center since the Patriots and Bills in Week 13 of the 2021 season. On top of that, Kubiak has used a lot of play-action. Carr on Sunday utilized PA on 9 of his 17 dropbacks, his highest total in the last nine seasons.
New Orleans was dead last in Play Action last season, and it’s something Kubiak has seemingly been desperate to alleviate. The team has also utilized much more condensed formations as opposed to last season, with a 53% rate in Week One. They now enter a tough four game stretch, as they will face off against Philadelphia, Atlanta, Kansas City and Tampa Bay. If their offense can keep humming along, they will have a good chance to be in the NFC South driver’s seat come week 7.