Are the Saints legit? Caleb Williams concerns? Which Harbaugh will get more W’s?

chonprasit

National Football League

Updated Sep. 19, 2024 8:52 a.m. ET

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After two weeks of the 2024 season, we’re down to nine undefeated teams, and two of them are the Saints and the Chargers. New Orleans may be the most impressive squad in the league coming out of the gate, but do the Saints have staying power?

Heading into Week 3, FOX Sports’ NFL experts tackle that topic and several others, including the struggles of young quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Bryce Young, and whether Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers will win more games this season than John Harbaugh’s Ravens. The answers may surprise you.

So let’s get started.

Are you buying or selling on the Saints being a legitimate NFC contender?

I’m buying it. The Saints almost snuck into the playoffs last year, winning four of the team’s last five games. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has created an offense that takes advantage of Derek Carr’s skill set as an accurate passer with decent movement skills. Alvin Kamara is back to being a do-everything playmaker and the Saints still get after it on defense, head coach Dennis Allen’s specialty. If New Orleans can stay healthy along the offensive line, this should be a team to reckon with during the second half of the season. — Eric D. Williams

The Saints’ offensive line was their biggest question mark, and it’s been great. Lucas Patrick is Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 rated guard, and Erik McCoy, less surprisingly, is the top center. Derek Carr is at ease in a new offense as the NFL’s top-rated passer. Their next four games are daunting — Eagles, at Falcons, at Chiefs, Bucs — so even a 2-2 run through that would be good. Defensive takeaways are a must — the Saints are tied for second in the NFL with five right now. Win the easy games (including four against current 0-2 teams) and there’s a clear path to the playoffs. – Greg Auman

I’ll buy the “contender” part if we’re talking about the playoffs, but I don’t see them as a legitimate threat to win the NFC. The same was true a year ago. They were 9-8, won four of their last five, and got a pretty good season from Carr. He’s got some good weapons around him, like Kamara and Chris Olave, and the offensive line has held up well so far. The ingredients are certainly in place for another 9-win season.

But let’s not get too crazy beyond that. They played the Panthers in Week 1, and while their blowout of the Cowboys in Week 2 was definitely impressive, Dallas has always been prone to a big letdown game at some point. I don’t think that was a sign of where either team is really at.

So the Saints are probably good, but not great. They could make a push for the NFC South title and the playoffs. Just don’t expect a lot more than that. — Ralph Vacchiano

Does Caleb Williams look like Justin Fields 2.0 or is the problem Chicago’s porous offensive line?

I think the answer is neither. Williams hasn’t forgotten how to play football from his time as a Heisman Trophy winner at USC. And while the Bears have struggled up front, the offensive line is serviceable. However, Williams needs some help from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to better manage the constant pressure he’s facing. That could mean the Bears leaning on more two-tight-end sets and playing bully ball by running the football or playing with more of an up-tempo pace to get opposing defenses on their heels.

Whatever the adjustments, Waldron must take a closer look at how he can create an offense that gives Williams more time in the pocket so that he’s comfortable throwing the football. The Bears are averaging a league-low 2.97 yards per play, so they must figure out a way to loosen up defenses and create some explosive plays. – Eric D. Williams

Both? Neither? I wouldn’t call either a “problem” per se. Williams is a rookie. It was never realistic to expect him to look like a star right out of the gate. In college, he had tremendous playmaking ability while also having a mastery of the fundamentals and getting an offense in rhythm. He can still do that, but he is going to have to adjust some things to account for the capabilities of NFL defenses. Williams can’t just go into scramble mode every time his first few reads aren’t open. He has to pick his spots because, as he saw against Houston, NFL defenses can swarm.

Williams needs to be given quicker developing options and a run game to lean on. That falls both on the playcaller and the offensive line. The line has the most continuity of any unit on offense, so use that. Don’t make Williams have to do all the checks and IDs himself at the line. All five linemen also have to be on the same page. There was a ton of miscommunication in Houston. That should get cleaned up as these guys play with each other more.

A more cohesive offensive line will help in the run game, too. You have a finesse-y type back in D’Andre Swift anyway. Handoffs aren’t the only way to run the ball. I’d like to see more pitches, more short passes to the flat, just to get Swift out into space without relying on the offensive line to do it. This should all come with time as players get more used to each other and new OC Shane Waldron understands his players’ skill sets. — Carmen Vitali

Are Caleb Williams’ struggles already concerning for Bears?

[Vitali: Caleb Williams isn’t at USC anymore: These two plays show realities of the NFL]

Caleb Williams is going to be fine. He doesn’t in any way remind me of Zach Wilson or Bryce Young. He looks more like Trevor Lawrence and Andrew Luck. By that, I mean that Williams, the latest No. 1 overall pick, looks like an enormous talent actively developing in real time. That means that his rookie season will be, by pundits standards, a disappointment. But look at the historical context and see that most No. 1 overall picks spend their first season shoveling you-know-what out of the stables. Peyton Manning certainly did. I see an offensive line problem. I don’t see a quarterback problem. — Henry McKenna

Are the Chiefs lucky to be 2-0 or are they just better at situational football than everyone else?

They’re the best situational football team in the NFL, in large part because Patrick Mahomes is the best situational quarterback in the NFL. He’s absolutely brilliant in clutch moments. Haters will say the refs help him succeed. But those who respect Mahomes’ greatness can see how he is taking control of the game and making the rules work for him. He can play like crap for 55 minutes and still win games. And in turn, he can play like crap — on the aggregate — for the first 14 games and still make the playoffs. That’s when he plays at his best. And that’s how he wins Super Bowls. So, no, this isn’t luck folks. This is what the Patriots did during their dynasty. They spent the first four weeks experimenting and sneaking in wins. And then they really hit their stride in the last third of the season. — Henry McKenna

I’m not sure how we can still be talking about luck when the Chiefs have started their quest for a three-peat at 2-0. Forget about Patrick Mahomes for a second and keep in mind that the Kansas City defense looks every bit as good as it did last year, having gotten the better of two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in consecutive weeks. If Steve Spagnuolo’s guys keep playing that way, Mahomes and the offense will have plenty of time to figure it out. We’ve seen this song and dance before. The Chiefs create their own luck by being more experienced in high leverage moments than anyone else in the league. — David Helman

Is Bryce Young’s failure in Carolina mainly his fault or due to the organizational dysfunction around him?

Young deserves plenty of blame — he’s played as poorly as any top overall pick we’ve seen in recent memory — but let’s be clear: The Panthers are the ones who are mainly at fault. They’ve failed him at every juncture to this point, starting last year, when they fired his first NFL head coach, Frank Reich, midseason. That only stoked the flames of the offensive incompetency around him. Then Carolina brings in a new offensive staff this offseason and Young plays just one drive in the preseason. And two (bad) games into a new scheme, you pull the plug on him? C’mon, man. Not only have the Panthers shown an astonishing lack of patience in a player they invested heavily in, but they also had a poor quarterback development plan from the jump and didn’t adequately build up the roster for Young. — Ben Arthur

Quarterbacks don’t grow in a vacuum. They need to be in a good system, with good coaches, with good teams around them. They can’t thrive in a place that’s just a total mess. And that is the perfect description for the Panthers organization. To borrow a phrase Giants owner John Mara once used about his quarterback, Daniel Jones, Carolina has done everything possible to screw Bryce Young up. The dysfunction has been mind-blowing. He’s been an NFL player for 19 games and he’s on his third head coach, his third playcaller and his second GM.

Maybe Young is not good, but who would know? The heads of veteran quarterbacks would spin with all that change in Carolina. And now, after his latest head coach committed to him as the starter, he’s benched after two bad games? There’s no stability. There’s no plan. So it’s hard to blame Young. Maybe he isn’t what the Panthers thought he’d be. But in his short time in the NFL, they haven’t given him much of a chance to find out. — Ralph Vacchiano

Is benching Bryce Young the right decision by Panthers?

Which team will win more games this year: John Harbaugh’s Ravens or Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers?

The brothers Harbaugh square off in Los Angeles on Nov. 25, and it’ll be quite a story if Jim’s Chargers have more wins than John’s Ravens two months from now. Baltimore’s 0-2 start is surprising, but one of the losses was to the Chiefs; one of the Chargers’ wins was against Carolina. I get the transitive simplicity of “Los Angeles beat Las Vegas, which beat Baltimore,” but the Ravens will turn close losses to close wins soon. Ideally, that starts this week in Dallas, where the back of the end zone was the only thing stopping the Saints last Sunday. It’s possible that the Chargers will exceed expectations, the Ravens will fall short of theirs and still end up with more wins than Los Angeles. — Greg Auman

I’m going to go out on a limb and say Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers. Their 2-0 start is evident that the former Michigan coach’s run-first approach, even with a quarterback as talented as Justin Herbert, can work. I think we’ll see the floodgates open for Herbert in the play-action game because of the threat of the run. L.A.’s schedule is also just so much easier than Baltimore’s. The Chargers have a fourth-place schedule, while the Ravens have a first-place slate. Baltimore has too much talent to be down for long, but I think the momentum the Chargers are building early in the season will reap rewards in the win-loss column when 2024 is all said and done. — Ben Arthur

Herd Hierarchy: Chargers leap to Top 3

Jim is always looking for a chance to top his older brother, and the Chargers should help him get that done this year. In his first season coaching the San Francisco 49ers, Jim Harbaugh led them to a 13-3 record and a postseason berth. He has a chance to accomplish the same thing with the Bolts after starting the season 2-0. With John Harbaugh starting the season 0-2, the Ravens are more concerned with winning one football game at this point. The only thing that could stop the Chargers from finishing with a better record than the Ravens is an injury to quarterback Justin Herbert, who’s dealing with an ankle issue after missing a month during training camp with a foot issue. — Eric D. Williams

It’s got to be the Chargers. If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would have said the opposite. But the 0-2 hole for the Ravens has me concerned about their offensive line, which has me concerned about their run game, which has me concerned about their passing game. And let’s not even get started about the fact that Lamar Jackson intentionally lost weight (to run more) during an offseason in which the team downgraded its offensive line at three positions. It feels like his health is on a razor-thin edge.

The Chargers, meanwhile, are doing the Jim Harbaugh thing: low-scoring games and massive rushing production. It’s not great for Justin Herbert’s fantasy football owners, but it’s good for Herbert’s career W-L totals. Bottom line: I think the Ravens should be more dangerous in the playoffs, but I think the Chargers win more regular-season games. — Henry McKenna

The following writers contributed to this story:Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Greg Auman (@gregauman); David Helman (@davidhelman_); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano); Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV)