Derek Carr and the Saints buck the NFL trend of early season offensive struggles

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The worst start to a season for passing offenses in years hasn't hit the New Orleans Saints.

While quarterbacks and offenses around the league have struggled to get going, Derek Carr and the Saints are clicking with an early efficiency that might not ever have been reached before in the NFL.

The Saints followed a 47-point outburst in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers by beating the Dallas Cowboys 44-19 on Sunday, becoming the fifth team to score at least 44 points in each of the first two games of a season.

New Orleans was the last team to do it in 2009 on the way to the franchise's only Super Bowl title, with the other three instances coming before the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. The Raiders did it in 1968, Detroit in 1962 and the Rock Island Independents in 1920 in the inaugural season in what is now known as the NFL.

The Saints, under new coordinator Klint Kubiak, scored on their first 15 drives of the season with Carr at quarterback, scoring on all nine drives in the opener before Carr was replaced by Jake Haener and then getting TDs on the first six possessions against the Cowboys before an interception ended that run.

Sportradar has tracked player participation since 2006 and no quarterback in that span had led 15 straight scoring drives at any point of a season. The longest streaks before Carr's for the Saints, excluding drives that ended with kneel downs at the end of a half or game, were a 13-drive streak for Drew Brees and the Saints in 2018 and streaks of 12 for Baltimore's Lamar Jackson in 2019 and New England's Tom Brady in 2007.

Carr and the Saints are the exception, with the 128 offensive touchdowns down 54 from the first two weeks in 2020 and tied for the second fewest in the last 18 seasons. The 193.6 net yards passing per game are the fewest through two weeks since 1996 (188.3).

While Carr has thrown for only 443 yards in the first two weeks thanks to blowouts that led to a heavy dose of runs, only five QBs have hit the 300-yard mark for the fewest 300-yard passing games in the first two weeks since 1996, when there were only three.

The situation isn't nearly so rosy for another NFC South team, with 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young having only 245 yards passing in two games combined, leading to his benching just two games into his second season.

Young was the 27th quarterback taken first overall in the common draft era and the first of those to lose his starting job in his second season for non-injury reasons.

Young's production has been anemic, with his career passer rating (70.9), touchdown passes (11) and yards per attempt (5.4) trailing the numbers through 18 starts of 2007 No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who is the epitome of a top-pick QB bust.

Young's 2-16 record is the third worst of any quarterback who has made at least 15 starts, and he went four straight starts dating to last season with no TD passes and fewer than 165 yards passing in each game. Only four other QBs had done that since 2000, with at least 12 attempts in each game.

While Young has struggled in Year 2, the rookie QBs haven't fared much better, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix combining for a 64.2 passer rating and no TD passes on 196 attempts.

That's the most attempts for rookie quarterbacks in the first two weeks without a TD since the merger, topping the 70 from 1970 when Terry Bradshaw was the top rookie.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have more wins than touchdowns this season in what can best be described as Mike Tomlin football.

After winning the opener against Atlanta on six field goals by Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh got into the end zone once on Sunday in a 13-6 win over Denver.

The Steelers are just the third team since at least 1960 to win the first two games of a season while scoring only one TD combined in those games. Detroit did it in 2000 and Buffalo in 1988.

The wins the first two weeks improved Tomlin's record as a coach to 42-40-1 (.512) when his team scores one offensive touchdown or fewer in a game. The rest of the NFL has a .227 winning percentage in that situation since Tomlin was hired in 2007, with no other coach with at least 10 tries having a winning record.

The New York Giants scored three touchdowns on Sunday against Washington, allowed none and somehow came out on the losing end of a 21-18 score.

How rare is that?

Extremely, it turns out.

The last time a team scored at least three touchdowns, gave up none and lost a game came on Nov. 5, 1989. On that day, Minnesota got seven field goals from Rich Karlis in regulation and beat the Rams 23-21 in overtime when the Vikings blocked a punt for a game-ending safety.

In all, there have been 1,235 times since 2000 that a team scored three more TDs than the opponent. The Giants are just the second of those teams to lose, with the other coming Oct. 21, 2007, when Houston fell 38-36 to Tennessee. The Titans got a record eight field goals from Rob Bironas and two TDs that day, while the Texans scored five touchdowns.

Nearly as unlikely was the comeback for Atlanta against Philadelphia on Monday night. The Falcons had a 0.7% chance of winning when they trailed 18-15 with 1:56 remaining and the Eagles had a first down at the Atlanta 17, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stat model.

But two runs followed by the Falcons' final two timeouts and then a dropped pass by Saquon Barkley on third down gave Atlanta a chance. Philadelphia opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-3 to go up six, setting the stage for Kirk Cousins to drive for the winning TD and the seventh-most improbable win as far back as NGS data goes to 2016.

The Green Bay Packers became the first team in NFL history to win 800 regular-season games when they topped the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 on Sunday.

The Bears franchise, which began as the Decatur Staleys in 1920, had been the winningest team in NFL history at the end of the league’s first 102 seasons before being passed by Green Bay in 2022.

Chicago is second with 794 wins. The only other team with at least 700 wins is the New York Giants with 721.

The Packers also have the most titles with 13, including three won in 1929-31 before the start of the playoffs.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) reacts after missing a pass on fourth down against the Washington Commanders late in the second half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs as New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin and Bobby Okereke (58) pursue during the first half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) falls after a short gain as Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) leaped over him during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws over Houston Texans defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. (97) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young leaves a news conference after their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr reacts after teammate Alvin Kamara scored a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)