Saints’ Brees optimistic he will play against Cowboys

Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton celebrates his touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints during the second half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, September 27, 2015. With reserve Luke McCown at quarterback and a struggling defense facing an undefeated Panther team, most were unsure what to expect. McCown connected on 31 of his 38 passes to a very Brees-like nine different receivers on mostly short-to-intermediate throws.

Vikings 31, Chargers 14: Adrian Peterson rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns in host Minnesota’s victory over San Diego (1-2).

The Panthers are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2003 season.

It was the first game Brees has missed because of injury since joining the Saints in 2006.

Saints vs Panthers 2015 today has featured McCone passing 162 yards, with no touchdown passes, no interceptions.

Cam Newton was able to get it going on the following drive for the Panthers. “Starting fast and keeping a good pace to the game early, I thought we did a good job of that”.

“I thought (Newton’s performance) was outstanding”, Rivera said. We were so close at the end of the game with that throw. McCown lofted a pass into the right corner of the end zone to Brandin Cooks against the man-to-man coverage of Carolina cornerback Josh Norman. “He felt like he made progress throughout the week and yet it’s still not where it needs to be, or where we would feel comfortable with the strength that he needs”. The Panthers (3-0) appeared to have the Saints pinned back inside the 10-yard line after a 56-yard punt by Brad Nortman, Teddy Williams was flagged for running out of bounds.

McCown, Payton and Cooks were all on the same page when it comes to the decision to take a shot at the potential winning score.

“I was really baffled by what was said to me”. “And just guys making plays….” Their DB Josh Norman made a phenomenal play. “Basically they were rolling one direction and taking away some other sides of the field which allowed Greg to be open”.

Carolina is now ranked second in the National Football League in scoring defense. Right tackle Zach Strief drew two flags for false starts, while tight end Benjamin Watson coughed up a third-quarter fumble that led to a Carolina field goal.

Browner seemed to always help the Panthers a key times, whether via penalties to continue drives or big pass plays on a blown coverage. A Marcus Murphy 74-yard punt return put the Saints up 17-10 in the third quarter, but Carolina scored the next 17 points to build a comfortable lead. Dwan Edwards earned his first sack of the season last week. The Panthers won the game 27-22. The odds and deck are heavily stacked against the Saints, as well as the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears, who also find themselves at 0-3. New Orleans now could bring back Lewis, Ellerbe and safety Jairus Byrd, who did some work in individual drills on the practice field this week before being declared out on Friday, against the Dallas Cowboys next week.