Saints must find answers quickly to avoid dreaded 0-2 start

The New Orleans Saints are quickly in a ‘sense of urgency’ mode after dropping their season opener to the Oakland Raiders. They’ve been in this spot before, five times to be specific. However, track history doesn’t favor the black and gold, as they only have a 1-4 record following a season opening loss with their lone victory came back in 2011. Conversely, they’ve won four out of the last five matchups against the New York Giants since 2006.

It’s a dangerous spot for the Saints to be in, and they’re sure to have their hands full with their Week 2 road matchup that has many concerned. Last season’s wild 52-49 shootout between Eli Manning and Drew Brees was tied for the third-highest point total in NFL history. So, should we expect another one to brew on Sunday?

It’s no secret that Manning will have a full compliment of wide receivers to face a very inexperienced Saints secondary. The seemingly resurgent Victor Cruz, rookie Sterling Shepard, and established threat of Odell Beckham Jr. give fans a sense of worry heading into this game. In essence, many fans are looking for another field day against the Saints.

We know that Brees can and will put up points, but the bigger area the Saints must worry about is their pass rush. Against the Raiders, the Saints were only able to manage three quarterback hits on Derek Carr. What’s more troubling is the fact that of those hits, only one came from the defensive line (Cameron Jordan).

The pass rush is key to taking off some pressure from the Saints secondary, which was once thought to be a strong point of the 2016 season. Undrafted rookies Ken Crawley and De’Vante Harris will undoubtedly see more time with the Delvin Breaux injury, and now the focus goes to second-year’s P.J. Williams, who thought he played alright in Week 1.

No matter what happens, the Saints have proven that another loss is something they’ve historically not been able to overcome.