This isn’t how you play a winning brand of football. The New Orleans Saints ended their opening drive against the Carolina Panthers with a missed field goal from the 29-yard line — alone, that’s a bad thing (especially for rookie kicker Blake Grupe, who is now the only specialist in the NFL with multiple misses inside 30 yards), but in the big picture it’s part of a concerning trend.

It meant the Saints offense extended its opening-drive touchdowns drought to 13 consecutive games. Like every team, the Saints scrip their first 12 to 15 plays each week to test the opponent’s vulnerabilities and gauge how the defense will react to what they’re being shown. These are often your staple plays that can reliably pick up yards and, hopefully, put points on the scoreboard

The injury bug is biting the New Orleans Saints at the worst time. They enjoyed the strongest team health in the NFL for the first three months of the season but didn’t take advantage of it, going into the Week 11 bye without a winning record — and now they’re getting banged up after slipping to third-place in the NFC South.

Rashid Shaheed is the latest Saints standout to land on the injury report. Initially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with the Carolina Panthers, Shaheed isn’t expected to play. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that a second opinion found his thigh contusion injury (suffered two weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons) was more serious than first believed

Saints quarterback Derek Carr is good to go for today's game against the Panthers, but he won't have a full complement of weapons around him.

Alvin Kamara scored on a 9-yard touchdown run with 14:55 left until halftime, giving the Saints a 7-0 lead.

Derek Carr returned from a recent concussion and upper body injuries to throw touchdown passes to Chris Olave and Jimmy Graham, and the New Orleans Saints defeated the hapless Carolina Panthers 28-6 on Sunday.

PUT THE PRESSURE ON. PICKED BY PETE. SAINTS BALL

FOX pic.twitter.com/QiJpJ7HeLN

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 10, 2023

The New Orleans Saints needed this. Facing the Carolina Panthers offense at midfield, rookie safety Jordan Howden was tasked with blitzing the quarterback — and he did his job well, catching Panthers rookie quarterback  Bryce Young at the top of his drop to jar the ball out of Young’s hand.

And linebacker Pete Werner was in the right spot at the right time to snag the recovery. Initially announced as an interception, the play was reviewed and changed to a sack-fumble for Howden and a fumble recovery for Werner. That’s a small adjustment, but it’s something they’ll be happy to share a laugh over with a win. Let’s see if the Saints can hold onto their league in the second half

"I AM."@demario__davis gets us going #Saints | @CoxComm pic.twitter.com/0lLSmXkYFw

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 10, 2023

The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are ready for their Week 14 matchup in the Superdome. While a number of key players are out today, Demario Davis is still in attendance and able to give his classic pregame speech.

His speech today was focused around the phrase: “I am.”

“Who is going to make the plays? I am. Who’s going to dominate the opponent? I am,” said Davis. The hope is that every player on the team will take this feeling and apply it to themselves. Motivation may be hard to find on a three game losing streak, but today is as good of a chance ot snap it as any

Here's the full play and heated argument between Derek Carr and Erik McCoy after the sack in the Saints win over the Panthers. James Hurst was trying to calm McCoy down as they went to the sideline. @wdsu pic.twitter.com/SnoZ23zBdz

— Sharief Ishaq (@ShariefWDSU) December 11, 2023

A lot happened in the New Orleans Saints’ win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday — both good and bad. But nothing caught fans’ attention more than the late-game altercation between quarterback Derek Carr and center Erik McCoy