Battle of the No. 4s: Derek Carr vs. Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott (74) & Derek Carr (73) both rank top three in wins among QBs to wear No. 4

• Only Brett Favre (186 wins) has won more games wearing No. 4 since 1950

Carr (vs CAR) and Prescott (at CLE) both won in Week 1 by 16+ points despite neither having more than 200 pass yards

Carr & Prescott are 2 of 4 QBs to have 3+ games with 3+ pass TD & 0 INT since 2023

• All three of Carr's games have come since Week 15, 2023 (most such games in span)

Carr and Prescott are 1-1 in head-to-head career matchups

• Prescott & Cowboys defeated Carr & Raiders in Week 15, 2017 (won 20-17)
• Carr & Raiders defeated Prescott & Cowboys in Week 12, 2021 (won 36-33)
• Carr: 3 pass TD, 0 INT; Prescott: 2 pass TD, 2 INT in such matchups
• Prescott had a 59.5 passer rating in his win vs. Carr (2nd-lowest passer rating of his career in a win)

How will the Saints defense deal with Dak Prescott & CeeDee Lamb?

Dak Prescott has won 14 straight home games (14-1 at home since 2022)

• Loss was Wk 1, 2022 vs TB (Prescott: 47.2 passer rtg; second worst in home career)
• The Cowboys have averaged 34.9 PPG at home with Prescott as starting QB

Prescott and the Saints pass defense both rank top 5 in comp pct, pass TD-INT ratio and passer rating in their respective categories since 2023.

The Saints have allowed 13.7 PPG since Week 14, 2023 (last 6 games)

• The Saints have allowed 17 or fewer points in five of the six games
• The Saints allowed just 10 points and 193 total yards in Week 1, 2024 vs CAR

The Saints are 9-1 since 2023 when they allow fewer than 20 points in a game

• NO: 1-7 since 2023 when they allow 20+ points in a game
• DAL has not scored fewer than 20 points at home since Week 1, 2022 vs TB (Prescott's last loss at home, DAL lost 19-3)

CeeDee Lamb led the Cowboys with five receptions and 61 yards at CLE

• Lamb avg 119.4 rec YPG & had eight rec TD (most) at home in 2023 (both 2nd in NFL)
• Lamb has 1,742 rec yards from the slot since 2022 (most in NFL by over 300 yards)
• NO defense: 1,549 slot rec yds allowed since 2023 (6th-most in NFL, NGS)

Brandin Cooks played three seasons for NO & was its 20th overall pick in the 2014 Draft

• Cooks had 215 rec, 2,861 rec yards, 20 rec TD from 2014-16 with NO
• Cooks: 100+ rec yds or 1+ rec TD in each of last 3 games vs NO (incl playoffs)

Cooks had the lone rec TD for DAL in Week 1 (fourth consecutive game with a rec TD)

• Longest active streak in the NFL with GB Christian Watson

Marshon Lattimore suffered a "minor" hamstring injury in Wk 1 & his Wk 2 status is TBD

• Lattimore has missed 17 of 35 regular season games since 2022

Saints CB Alontae Taylor had a career-high 3.0 sacks in Week 1, 2024 vs CAR

• Jordan Howden (1st in career) & Will Harris both had an INT in Saints in Week 1

Matchup of veteran running backs: Alvin Kamara vs Ezekiel Elliott

Alvin Kamara & Ezekiel Elliott are two of five players with 10,000+ scrim yds since 2016

• Elliott (11,602 yds; leads NFL) entered NFL in 2016 Draft (1st rd, 4th overall)
• Kamara (10,158 yds) entered NFL in 2017 Draft (3rd rd, 67th overall)

Kamara led NO with 15 carries, 83 rush yds, 1 rush TD (tied) & 5 rec (27 yds) in Week 1

• Week 1 was Kamara's 50th game with 100+ scrimmage yds (most in NO history)
• Kamara: one of two active players with 100+ scrimmage yds in 50+ games (C. McCaffrey)

Elliott led the Cowboys with 10 carries, 40 rush yards and 1 rush TD in Week 1

• Elliott's first rush TD with the Cowboys since Week 17, 2022 at TEN
• Elliott had a career-low three rush TD in 2023 with the Patriots

Elliott: top two in carries (2,075), rush yds (8,944) & rush TD (72) among active players

• Elliott can become the 40th player in NFL history with 9,000+ rush yds

Micah Parsons and the Cowboys defense vs. Derek Carr and the Saints offense

Derek Carr has had his top-2 passer rating games in career over last two games played

• 142.5 passer rating vs CAR in Week 1; 145.5 passer rtg vs ATL in Wk 18, 2023

Carr can become fourth QB since 1970 merger to have three straight games w/ 140+ passer rtg

• Others: Aaron Rodgers (2011), HOF Kurt Warner (1999), HOF Roger Staubach (1971)
• Carr can became second Saints player to have back-to-back games with a 140+ passer rating in a single season (Drew Brees in 2018)

Carr leads all QBs with 15 pass TD & a 129.0 passer rating since Week 15, 2023

• Carr has nine pass TD and 0 INT in his last three games (Week 17, 2023 - Week 1)

Carr has a 95.8 passer rating in road games since 2023 (3rd-best in NFL, min. 200 att)

• Carr: 75+ pass rtg in eight straight road games (longest active streak in the NFL)

All three of Carr's pass TD in Week 1 came on downfield passes, per NGS (10+ air yards)

• Carr: fourth game since 2016 with 3+ TD & 0 INT on downfield throws
• Cowboys defense held Deshaun Watson to 3-14, 57 yds on downfield throws in Week 1

Rashid Shaheed led the Saints with 73 rec yds and one rec TD (tied) in Week 1

• Shaheed had a 59-yd rec TD vs CAR in Week 1 (fourth rec TD of 50+ yds)
• Only Tyreek Hill (7) has more 50+ yd rec TD than Shaheed since 2022

The Saints have won five of their last six games since Week 14, 2023

• Only team with a better record since Week 14, 2023 is the Bills (6-0)
• Saints lead the league with 32.0 PPG since Week 14, 2023

The Saints have scored 47+ pts in back-to-back games (scored 48 pts in Wk 18 vs ATL)

• Saints are the only team to score 47+ pointsin2+ games since 2023
• Only two teams in NFL history have scored 47+ points in three straight games - 1941 Bears (Weeks 5-7) and 2007 Patriots (Weeks 6-8)

The last team to score 45+ pts in back-to-back games in a single season were 2018 Saints

• Each of the last four teams to score 45+ pts in back-to-back games in a single season reached at least the NFC Championship game

The Cowboys allowed 15.9 PPG at home in 2023 regular season (3rd-fewest in NFL)

• DAL allowed a season-high 48 points in 2023 Wild Card loss at home vs GB
• Saints scored 22.3 PPG on the road in 2023 (12th in NFL)

The Cowboys led the NFL with 6 sacks, 25 QB pressures & 2 INT (tied) in Week 1 at CLE

• DAL had seven more QB pressures than any other team in Week 1 (per Next Gen Stats)

The Cowboys have a 42.7 QB pressure pct since 2023, per NGS (1st in NFL)

• Carr was pressured on 16 pct of dropbacks in Week 1 (lowest among qualified QBs)
• Carr: 3-3, 77 yds, 1 TD, 158.3 passer rating on att under pressure in Wk 1 vs CAR

Micah Parsons had 1.0 sack, five QB hits and nine QB pressures (NGS) in Week 1

• Parsons: Most QB hits and pressures by any player in Week 1
• Parsons leads the NFL with 108 QB pressures since 2023 (NGS)

DeMarcus Lawrence had 2.0 sacks, 3 TFL, 4 QB hits, 1FF&8 QB pressures (NGS) in Week 1

• Was Lawrence's second game with 2+ sacks in the last five seasons (seventh career game)
• NGS: second-most QB pressures by any player in Week 1 (teammate Parsons had nine)

Eric Kendricks had 2.0 sacks and an INT in Week 1 at CLE (3rd career game w/ 2+ sacks)

• Kendricks is the third DAL player since 1982 to have two+ sacks and an INT in a game
• He joins Tommy Haynes (Week 4, 1987) & Jim Jeffcoat (Week 15, 1985)

Trevon Diggs had an INT in Week 1 in his first game since Week 2, 2023

• Diggs tore his ACL in practice leading up to Week 3 (missed rest of 2023 season)
• Diggs leads the NFL with 16 INT since 2021 despite playing just 2 games in 2023