New Orleans Saints defense dominates and other Week 1 overreactions

The New Orleans Saints impressed and shocked the football world in week one of the regular season. Jameis Winston threw for five touchdowns in his first start as the Saints starting quarterback. The Saints defense destroyed the Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay Packers offense, holding the team to three total points in the game. The positives are high after a huge week one win, but here are some overreactions to the Saints week one win.

Sean Payton is a likely Coach of the Year candidate

This past off-season was littered with stories of the New Orleans Saints salary cap issues. The season has started and the Saints are starting several new players. There was also the retirement of a legend at quarterback in Drew Brees. This did not affect the Saints in week one. The team looked focused and dismantled the Green Bay Packers on both sides of the ball. If Payton were to lead this Saints team to another double-digit win total, Payton will likely be a front-runner for Coach of the Year.

The Saints could go into their Bye week undefeated

The Saints bye week does fall early this year in week six. After this impressive week one performance, the Saints do not face any other juggernaut team before the Bye week. The games coming up are against the Carolina Panthers. New Orleans will likely be favored or even odds in every one of these games. The Saints have been notorious slow starters under Sean Payton but if this week was any indicator, this team has the opportunity to get several notches in the win column before reaching the toughest parts of the schedule.

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Saints defense could lead the team

In years past, the Saints were always an offensively led team. Sean Payton, Drew Brees, and the rest of the offense set the tone for the entire team. It seems that this has flipped this season. The Saints defense brought the energy and made a statement against the elite Packers offense in week one. Marcus Davenport, Cameron Jordan, Kwon Alexander, and others set the tone by beating up on the Packers in the opening game of the 2021 regular season. The Saints defense are likely to lead the energy and keep the Saints in every game this season.

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