Dave Canales reveals the one thing the Panthers must do to beat the Saints in Week 1

The head ball coach gives his number one key to the game versus the New Orleans Saints.

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When the Carolina Panthers head to New Orleans this weekend to take on the Saints for the season-opener, head coach Dave Canales believes if his team does one thing extremely well, it'll give them a chance to win the game. That one thing? Taking care of the ball.

“Plain and simple, if we take care of the football, it’ll be a really competitive game that we’ll be able to play the type of game that we want to. That’s the emphasis," he said during a recent guest appearance on the Kyle Bailey Show on WFNZ. "All the play style things - having great effort, great toughness, great enthusiasm, playing smart, and finishing everything we do...it all goes back to the football and I would assume that would be the reason.”

Although the Panthers' offense was one of the league's worst units in 2023, they didn't giftwrap extra possessions to the opposing team very often. Believe it or not, they were in the top half of the league in giveaways, averaging just 1.2 per game. This is key to the game is more about the respect that Dave Canales has for Dennis Allen's defense, who always finishes near the top of the NFL in takeaways, including a third-place finish in 2023.

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