New Orleans Saints: Why the Seattle Seahawks are easily beatable
By Jason Reed
The New Orleans Saints have a tough road game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 in the first game without Drew Brees starting at quarterback.
The New Orleans Saints have to live without Drew Brees at least for the next six weeks as Brees suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams, which requires surgery.
Filling in for Brees is Teddy Bridgewater, who was made the highest-paid backup in the NFL for this exact reason. Bridgewater was beginning to make strides as a solid NFL quarterback before his tragic torn ACL prior to the 2016 season, which has derailed his career.
Bridgewater got paid so the Saints could rely on him in the instance in which Brees got hurt, which is now. With such a talented roster, the Saints needed someone who could still win them games as a backup.
More from Big Easy Believer
- New Orleans Saints: Three biggest questions heading into the offseason
- New Orleans Saints: Three positives to take from playoff loss
- New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide vs. Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Saints: Bold predictions for Wild Card Round vs. Vikings
- New Orleans Pelicans: Betting guide in Los Angeles Lakers rematch
Despite this, many people are already writing the Saints off and most think that they will lose in Week 3. And while I think it is more likely than not that the Saints lose, there are reasons that could lead to them upsetting Seattle.
First and foremost, Bridgwater is getting an entire week to practice with the first team and this gives Sean Payton an entire week to gameplan. There is a massive difference between this and Bridgewater just getting thrown to the wolves with no gameplan as an injury substitution.
Defensively, the Saints should be able to have a much better time against the Seahawks than they have in the first two weeks. While they are still a threat to move the ball with the run game and with the electric Russell Wilson, they do not have the dynamic receiving corps that has stunned the Saints over the first two weeks.
Marshon Lattimore has been particularly poor in these first two weeks, piecing together the worst two-week stretch of his young career. A big reason for that was having to come up against two high-profile offenses in the first two weeks.
The Seahawks are still an above-average team offensively, don’t get me wrong, but Lattimore will have an easier time with the Seahawks’ receivers than he did the Texans and Rams.
Even with Bridgewater getting a week to prepare, it could be tough offensively for the Saints. The Seahawks rank fourth in the league in rushing yards allowed, only allowing 57.5 rushing yards per game this season.
However, it should be mentioned that Joe Mixon got injured in the third quarter in Week 1 while James Conner also got injured in the fourth quarter in Week 2. Granted, both of them still played over half of the game.
Alvin Kamara is better than those two and is going to have to carry this game offensively, which is definitely something he is capable of.
So with Bridgewater getting a week under his belt, the Seahawks’ receiving corps and the luxury of having one of the most dynamic running backs in the league, the New Orleans Saints have a shot.
But keep in mind: this is Seattle and teams do not just go into Seattle and take wins away from the Seahawks.