The New Orleans Saints had a 3-0 start within in their grasp after leading the Green Bay Packers 17-0 at halftime, but it all came crashing down after Derek Carr was injured.
Carr left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury after taking his third sack on the day, which we’ll further dive into with today’s notable Saints numbers after reviewing the final stats from today’s 18-17 loss to the Packers as well as the betting odds from Caesars Sportsbook, official odds partner of Bet.NOLA.com.
That’s the number of points that the Saints lost by today, which is the second time this season that they had a contest decided by one point. The Saints were on the winning end the last time in a 16-15 season-opening win against the Tennessee Titans, but they ended up on the losing end this week after Blake Grupe’s missed field goal in the closing minutes. Derek Carr had also thrown one touchdown prior to his departure, and one can only wonder if he would’ve been able to get one more to lead the Saints to victory had he been able to stay in the game.
Speaking of Carr, that’s the number of sacks that the Saints new starting quarterback has taken so far to start 2023, which is among the most in the NFL. Seeing him go down with a shoulder injury was painful to watch considering how many hits he’s already taken. Many of those sacks can be attributed to pass protection issues, but Carr’s tendency to hold on to the ball too long also puts him in a vulnerable spot as far as taking hits, so the hope is that he’ll be able to improve upon that once he returns from injury.
That was the number of points scored today, which is the ninth-straight week dating back to last season that the Saints have seen less than 40 points scored in their game. While the Saints defense struggled down the stretch against Jordan Love and the Packers offense, it was still an overall excellent effort from a unit that’s been elite to start the 2023 season having allowed no more than 18 points in a game, which has resulted in the betting total going under in all nine of those Saints games with less than 40 dating back to 2022.
