Mardi Gras Came Early: The New Orleans Saints went up north to take on the New England Patriots and this game could not have been any better for the Saints as they defeated the Patriots by a dominating score of 34-0. Saints quarterback Derek Carr got the job done as he threw for 183 passing yards and two touchdowns to Chris Olave and Foster Moreau. Saints running back Alvin Kamara made his season debut after serving a suspension. Kamara had 80 rushing yards on the day as well as a rushing touchdown. The Saints had a great day on the defensive side of the ball not only by holding the Patriots to 0 points, but also getting a fumble recovery, two sacks, three TFLs and two interceptions, one even being returned for a pick six by safety Tyrann Mathieu. The Patriots lost to the Cowboys 38-3 the previous week as the Patriots continue to struggle since Tom Brady left a few years ago. The Patriots look to get back in the win column next week as they travel out west to take on the Las Vegas Raiders. The Saints stay on the road and go to Houston and take on the Texans.
Burrow & Chase are Back: The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off of a season where they made it to the AFC Championship and had a promising future ahead of them–the Bengals even made Joe Burrow the highest paid NFL player ever this offseason. However, the team has struggled thus far, especially the former LSU duo of Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. But this 34-20 win against the Arizona Cardinals this past weekend shows that they are now back on track. Burrow threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns with all three of the touchdowns being caught by Chase. Chase had not scored until this game and made a statement by scoring three times. Chase finished the day with a very impressive 192 receiving yards. Even though it was not a winning performance, Arizona had some good stats as well. Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs had 166 passing yards on the day and a passing touchdown to Marquise Brown, who had 61 receiving yards on the day. The Cardinals were not expected to be a good team this season and have shown decent play. The Bengals head back to Cincinnati to host the Seattle Seahawks while the Cardinals will hit the road to take on the Los Angeles Rams.
Falcons Soar Over Texans: In a tough fought game, the Atlanta Falcons bested the Houston Texans by a score of 21-19. Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder threw for an impressive 329 passing yards and a passing touchdown to rookie running back Bijan Robinson. Ridder also scored a touchdown running it in himself. The leading receiver for the Falcons was tight end Kyle Pitts with 87 receiving yards. While the Texans played well and even recovered two fumbles from Atlanta, it was not enough. Nonetheless, many Texans players had a good game on Sunday. Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 249 passing yards and touchdown to tight end Dalton Schultz. Damien Pierce ran for 66 yards averaging 3.3 yards per carry. These two teams have a lot of young talent on their rosters both look to have very promising futures. Next week for the Texans, they will return home to Houston to host the New Orleans Saints. And for the Falcons, they will return home as they will be set to host the Washington Commanders.
