Saints, Derek Carr ride out storm, study dynamic Dallas D

For the first time in 364 days, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs will sprint out of the tunnel at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.

Diggs and Dallas entertain the New Orleans Saints in a matchup of 1-0 teams and the All-Pro’s first game in his home stadium since Sept. 17, 2023. Four days later, Diggs tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in practice and missed the rest of last season.

After grinding through rehab to return for Week 1, Diggs celebrated with his 19th career interception as the Cowboys dominated the Cleveland Browns 33-17.

“It felt good,” Diggs said. “Emotions were high. Just being able to go out there with my teammates and stuff, I missed them. So just being able to go out there and be able to compete, it just felt good to be back. I’m comfortable. Game 2, I’m going to be 100 percent better. That’s about getting better every day, every game and just keep growing.”

If Diggs picks off Saints quarterback Derek Carr on Sunday, Diggs would become the fourth cornerback since 1990 with 20 interceptions in his first 50 career games. The others are Hall of Famer Ed Reed (21 interceptions), Richard Sherman (20) and Marcus Peters (20).

Carr threw three touchdown passes and led New Orleans to points on nine consecutive drives in a 47-10 rout of the Carolina Panthers. The Saints then quickly shifted into storm preparation as New Orleans braced for Hurricane Francine.

“Everything was the same with (game) preparation, we just started earlier,” Carr said.

Late-week practices were in peril and subject to change, head coach Dennis Allen said. He and Carr were reviewing Dallas’ defensive effort at Cleveland, when the Cowboys had an NFL-high 24 quarterback hurries against Deshaun Watson.

“They’re just really good, really talented,” Carr said of the Dallas defense, pinpointing “11” or pass rusher Micah Parsons as the player to find pre-snap. “You turn on the tape and he reminds me of Von Miller with that explosiveness, that get-off. And he plays off the ball, too. He can really play off the ball, too. … For a guy to be able to do all of those things, he’s one of the better football players I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Dallas originally feared Pro Bowl tight end Jake Ferguson had torn knee ligaments in his left knee in Week 1, but he received good news on that front.

“They went through a bunch of stuff, looked at it, did a couple more tests, and they were like, ‘It’s not ACL,'” Ferguson said Wednesday. “Thankfully, just a little bone bruise and MCL, but … I don’t even think it’s a Grade 1 (sprain).”

The Cowboys held Ferguson out of practice all week and labeled him doubtful to play the Saints, but he said he was at zero pain on a scale of 1-10 as of Wednesday.

Parsons said he felt he could’ve had four sacks of Watson. He totaled 11 pressures on the Cowboys’ coaching tape of the game and recorded one of the team’s six sacks. Then he arrived for practice on Wednesday and new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer revealed a brand new set of pressure packages that sparked another flame in Parsons.

“I just want to test everyone’s water. I just want to test the pot,” Parsons said. “I want to see which guy I can, I feel like I can manipulate. But I really don’t care who it is. It’s just about me feeling like I’m the best and I can just go against whoever.”

Carr and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott are leaning on proven hands in the backfield. Alvin Kamara led the Saints with 15 carries and had a team-best five receptions in Week 1. Dallas started Ezekiel Elliott, back after one year with the New England Patriots, and he caught two passes and led the Cowboys with 10 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown.

“Definitely fresh,” said Elliott, who is 144 offensive snaps shy of 6,000 in his career. “Just got to continue to build on that and take care of my body. And we want to be feeling good in December and January.”

The Saints ruled out linebacker D’Marco Jackson (calf) and listed five players as questionable: rookie tackle Taliese Fuaga (back), star cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), rookie linebacker Jaylan Ford (hamstring) and defensive linemen Bryan Bresee (illness) and Isaiah Foskey (back).

One player was ruled out for Dallas — tight end John Stephens (hamstring), meaning the team could be thin at that position.

–Field Level Media

With QB situation unsettled, Packers take on Colts

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur says the door remains “pretty open” for quarterback Jordan Love to start the home opener Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

With Love reportedly suffering a sprained MCL late in a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil, an injury with a recovery timetable of three to six weeks, the same door might have been left ajar for Malik Willis to take over at QB.

The Packers stopped short of ruling Love out for Sunday, instead designating him as questionable on Friday’s injury report. Love did not practice all week and has not yet received medical clearance to play, LaFleur said Friday.

Willis took the final two snaps of Green Bay’s 34-29 defeat in Brazil, throwing an incompletion and taking a sack.

Green Bay (0-1) acquired him from the Tennessee Titans for a seventh-round pick on the eve of final roster cuts in August.

LaFleur lauded Willis’ diligence and preparation to date. The third-year pro out of Liberty is 35-for-67 for 350 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions in 12 career games.

“It’s not like we’re dealing with a rookie here,” LaFleur said. “He’s got a process. I thought he did a great job in his three weeks, which feels like three months since he’s been here, of being dialed in.”

Love passed for 260 yards and touchdowns to Jayden Reed and Christian Watson as well as an interception before getting injured. Running back Josh Jacobs rushed 16 times for 84 yards in his team debut, with 32 yards coming on one carry.

After struggling to contain Eagles dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Packers face a similar test in Colts QB Anthony Richardson.

Back under center for Indianapolis (0-1) after an injury-shortened rookie season, Richardson kept the Colts afloat in a season-opening 29-27 home loss to the Houston Texans despite inconsistency.

Richardson passed for 212 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, with both scores covering more than 50 yards.

“He’s got a huge arm that allows us to push the ball down the field, and then we’ve got the speed on the outside to go get it,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “I think when you’re explosive like that in the pass game, instead of having those 12-, 13-, 14-play drives, you get an opportunity to hit some big ones.”

Richardson rushed for a team-leading 56 yards, including a 3-yard TD with 2:14 that drew Indianapolis within the final margin.

The Colts endured a substantial injury of their own in Week 1, as starting cornerback JuJu Brents sustained a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve — a designation the Packers didn’t assign to Love.

Veteran Kenny Moore II looms as a possibility to start at the other corner opposite Jaylon Jones and says he’s ready to follow Steichen’s “next man up” mantra if summoned.

“It speaks true to always being ready,” Moore said, “always being prepared.”

Houston gained 417 yards of offense against Indianapolis, including a 213-yard effort on the ground.

If the Packers can duplicate that sort of success in the run game, Willis won’t need to be supernatural, although he admittedly is cramming to get up to speed.

“The reality is I just got here, so it’s gonna be a little bit in overdrive,” he said. “It’s been pretty much around the clock since I got here. You try to come in and be ready to go if you’re called upon.”

Green Bay also listed Reed (calf/shin) and running back MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) as questionable for Sunday.

The Colts ruled out safety Julian Blackmon (shoulder), while defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (back), defensive end Kwity Paye (hamstring) and receiver Josh Downs (ankle) are questionable.

–Field Level Media

Ravens hope Derrick Henry rebounds vs. Raiders

BALTIMORE — Derrick Henry won’t be a player who gets the ball 30 times per game, according to Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, but the veteran back should get plenty of opportunities to run against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders in their Week 2 matchup on Sunday.

Henry had an underwhelming performance in a 27-20 loss to the host Kansas City Chiefs in the opener, carrying the ball 13 times for 46 yards with a 5-yard touchdown. The Raiders allowed 176 yards rushing in their 22-10 loss to the host Los Angeles Chargers in their Week 1 matchup, so the Ravens will be tempted to test Las Vegas’ front seven.

However, the key for the Raiders and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will be shutting down Lamar Jackson, the NFL’s top dual-threat quarterback who accounted for 395 (122 rushing, 273 passing) of the Ravens’ 452 total yards against Kansas City.

Jackson missed practice on Monday but was back on Wednesday as the Ravens continued preparations for Las Vegas. Jackson did not appear on the injury report.

“He’s definitely as good as it gets, as dynamic as it gets,” Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said about Jackson. “The definition of a dual threat. He presents a great challenge to any defense in this league. Pat will work hard to get a good game plan together, so that way we can try and limit some of those things that he does. But even then, it’s different when you still got to go against him. But I believe in our guys, and I believe in our coaches and our scheme.”

The Ravens are trying to build an offense that can attack teams multiple ways and doesn’t rely too heavily on the running game, which ranked No. 1 in rushing yards in the NFL last season. The duo of Jackson and Henry should create some formidable matchups against the Raiders.

However, Harbaugh wants to beat teams downfield with a dynamic passing game that revolves around wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor. Baltimore also has two of the best tight ends in the NFL with three-time Pro Bowl selection Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.

As a result, Harbaugh plans to have a different type of offense week-to-week, which could cause wrinkles in the Raiders’ defensive game plan if the Ravens can effectively execute their plays.

The bottom line is the Ravens don’t want to rely too heavily on Henry to carry the offense.

“We didn’t bring Derrick in here to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game,” Harbaugh said this week. “He’s done that before. That’s really not the plan. The plan is Derrick, Lamar, Mark, Isaiah, Zay, ‘Bate,’ and ‘Nelly.’ That’s kind of the plan in this offense going forward, so I think that evaluation will be best made throughout the season.”

The key for the Ravens is to contain the Raiders’ three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby. In the teams’ last meeting in 2021, Crosby had two sacks, six tackles, five quarterback hits and two tackles for a loss in Las Vegas’ 33-27 overtime win.

“That guy, he’s a great edge rusher, man,” Jackson said. “My hat’s off to him. He was high motor. He was just going at it all game. I was like, ‘This man here …’ I was laughing with Maxx. He was trying to get after me, and I was talking trash back. He was like, ‘But I love your game, Lamar,’ and stuff like that. But he’s a great edge rusher. He’s definitely a great edge rusher.”

Ravens rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins was involved in a car accident during the week and was ruled out for Sunday’s game, listed with a neck injury and a concussion. Linebacker Adisa Isaac (hamstring) is doubtful while pass rusher Kyle Van Noy (eye) is questionable.

Las Vegas cornerback Decamerion Richardson (hamstring) and defensive end Tyree Wilson (knee) did not practice all week and were ruled out for the game. Guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (illness) is questionable.

The Raiders struggled to score against the Chargers and they might have even more trouble against the Ravens, who blitz the quarterback from multiple positions.

Las Vegas quarterback Gardner Minshew was 25 of 33 for 257 yards with a touchdown and interception (95.1 rating) against the Chargers. The Ravens sacked the mobile Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes twice and had seven quarterback hits so Minshew likely will be under pressure for much of the game.

“I thought the pass rush was good,” Harbaugh said. “You’re rushing Patrick Mahomes. “I’m a little disappointed (with) the couple of times he got out, but I really haven’t seen a game where he hasn’t gotten out, to some degree, to extend plays. I felt we pressured him a number of times.”

The Raiders could not get much going on the ground in Week 1 with Zamir White running for 44 yards on 13 carries. Baltimore held the Chiefs to just 72 yards on 20 carries.

–Todd Karpovich, Field Level Media