After rushing for only 18 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7, the New Orleans Saints enjoyed a rebound of their run game totaling 160 rushing yards against the Cleveland Browns after their bye week.
The team will hope to continue that bounce back against the Carolina Panthers’ No. 28 ranked rushing defense.
However, the job won’t be as easy as it sounds unless New Orleans has truly revitalized its attack.
Carolina’s allowed rushing numbers are a little skewed.
Against the Chicago Bears to open the season, a team that ranks No. 3 across the league in rushing yards, Carolina surrendered a staggering 291 yards in the ground.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 1 rushing team in the NFL), Carolina gave up 258.
However, against teams that tend to rank outside around the Saints’ level of rushing production (No. 26) like the Denver Broncos (No. 27), the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 28) and the Green Bay Packers (No. 32), the Panthers’ defense has fared very well, forcing less than 100 rushing yards in each of those contests.
The Saints won’t be able to rest on the laurels of the Panthers’ faulty numbers but instead will have to prove that they have truly separated themselves from the lower-producing groups of teams.
It’s not guaranteed that they can do that, but it’s also not impossible.
New Orleans will need more success from running back Audric Estime, more scrambling from quarterback Tyler Shough and more effective blocking schemes and execution like last week’s in order to take full advantage of the Panthers’ biggest vulnerability.
If the team can do so, it will be one step closer to proving that their Week 9 160-rushing-yard performance was more than just a flash in the pan.
