Saints solved their quarterback issue with $150 million

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Saints, like the Falcons, had a quarterback issue last offseason.

After Derek Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler was released by the Raiders, the Saints signed him to a four-year, $150 million deal with $60 million in guaranteed money. The deal reunited Carr with Saints coach Dennis Allen, who was his coach when he entered the NFL with the Raiders in 2014.

It has not been a glorious reunion for most of this season, but Carr, who’s set to face the Falcons (7-9) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, has the Saints (8-8) on the verge of going to the playoffs.

While the Saints elected to go with a veteran quarterback, the Falcons went with second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder and have played musical chairs at the position this season. Taylor Heinicke is set to start with a trip to the playoffs on the line.

“Yeah, obviously he’s had a lot of success in the NFL,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “He’s a very smart quarterback.”

It’s been a bumpy ride getting Carr and his new teammates on the same page. But lately, they’ve been well coordinated.

Carr has completed 73% of his passes for 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions over the past four games. The Saints have won three of the past four games as Carr has completed 92 of 126 passes for 853 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Saints need to win and hope the Bucs lose to the Panthers to win the division. They could also get in as a wild card with a win and losses by Green Bay and Seattle. The Falcons need a win and loss by Bucs to claim the NFC South title.

“Like a lot of guys that play on Sunday, they get going, they get in a rhythm, and they can hurt you,” Smith said. “We have to play well. It’s a huge game for us.”

The Falcons had Carr’s number earlier this season.

In the 24-15 win, the Falcons tormented the signal-caller. He completed 24 of 38 passes for 304 yards and an interception by safety Jessie Bates III that was returned 92 yards for a touchdown. He finished with a 77.1 passer rating.

“Yeah, he’s pretty good,” Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray said. “Even when we played them the first time, he did a really good job. He’s probably one of the top quarterbacks we’ve played this year.”

The Falcons respect Carr’s ability to read defenses.

“He knows how to move you with his eyes,” Gray said. “He can make all of the throws. So, you’re going up against a real NFL quarterback this week.”

On the season, Carr has completed 353 of 520 passes (67.9%) for 3,614 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a passer rating of 94.7. Carr’s yards and touchdowns rank 15th in the league.

“Well, we’ve got to make sure we don’t give him any tips and understand what his reads are and go out and play our game,” Gray said. “They’ve got three good wide receivers. They’ve got two good running backs. The offensive line is good.”

The Falcons need to rebound from a poor performance against the Bears. Quarterback Justin Fields had seven pass plays that went for 21 yards or more in the 37-17 rout.

“The biggest thing we’ve got to do is make sure we don’t give up explosive plays,” Gray said. “And that’s what we have to do on our side. Get the ball, you don’t give up explosive plays (and) you give yourself a chance to win.”

Unlike when playing Fields, the Falcons will attempt to attack Carr. Against the Bears, they had to maintain their rush lanes and keep Fields in the pocket.

“The pass rush has to get home,” Falcons outside linebacker Bud Dupree said. “Obviously, we have to face him in that manner. Jessie, A.J. and those guys (in the secondary) have to do their job and make sure that we are not giving him looks that he likes to throw into.”

The Falcons had a sack by Arnold Ebiketie and three quarterback hits in the previous meeting.

“Anytime a veteran guy like that, he has been on that many playoff runs as he’d like to,” Dupree said. “If he has a chance to knock on the door, I feel like he’s going to give us his best shot.”