Saints edge Titans 16-15 in 5th consecutive Season Opener win

To start off the 2023 NFL season, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Tennessee Titans in ugly fashion, 16–15.

In a game in which both teams committed five turnovers and attempted eight field goals, the first touchdown wasn't scored until the third quarter. The Black and Gold managed to hold on to win despite several strange situations and poor play.

It's good to see that Derek Carr finished with 300 yards and a score on the stat sheet. But there were other wasted opportunities, poorly executed plays, and a lack of communication throughout the whole game. It demonstrated the fact that this offense only participated in one preseason drive as a unit.

Many individuals will respond by claiming "but they had all camp to build that chemistry"—which is true—and they did. But creating camaraderie in camp and finding a rhythm in the game are two whole different things. The Saints will need to fix their offensive problems as soon as possible.

The Saints' first-round selection of Northern Iowa's second-year offensive tackle was terrible today. No other way to put it exists. This afternoon in the Superdome, Arden Key, who has spent his whole career as an average-slightly above average defensive end, made Penning look like a lineman in middle school.

Now, Penning missed nearly all of 2022 due to injury, so I assume he's still adjusting to the NFL. I sincerely hope he can be excellent, but I'm beginning to doubt it.

Derrick Henry was only allowed to gain 63 yards on the ground by New Orleans, and Ryan Tannehill was only able to complete 200 passes while tossing three interceptions. The defensive line was successful in applying pressure, the linebackers excelled in both coverage and pass rush, and the secondary stepped up when crucial plays needed to be made. Even though it's only Week 1, there have already been a lot of impressive performances from this team that have led some observers to predict a remarkable season.