First Look: Saints vs. Cardinals

The Saints have no choice but to turn the page quickly after a disappointing loss, traveling out west to take on the Cardinals for Thursday Night Football.

If there ever was a time for the Saints to get a win, then it'd be on Thursday Night Football going up against the Cardinals in Arizona. However, that's easier said than done. New Orleans will simply have to find a way, despite all the things that haven't been going there way. Here's a few things we're watching for leading up to the game.

What to Watch For

BATTERED SAINTS: New Orleans is dealing with a plethora of injuries, with 14 players appearing on the first injury report of the week. That was an estimated participation report, as the team did not actually practice. Andy Dalton was one of the most concerning names to pop up on there, as he has a back injury. We've already heard that Adam Trautman, Jarvis Landry, Michael Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore are not expected to play. You might have to add Andrus Peat (chest) in there too. How the Saints field their squad will be something to watch.

QB1: With Dalton dealing with the back injury, it remains to be seen if he'll be the team's starter. Winston (back/ankle) is not 100 percent yet, but he is progressing. Dennis Allen said that he was healthy enough to be the team's emergency third quarterback on Sunday against the Bengals. Being QB2, that could have been why we didn't see a ton of Taysom Hill after his big week against the Seahawks. We'd anticipate Dalton starting here, but keep an eye on Hill.

OLAVE'S STATUS: He's off the injury report, which is a great thing to see. We were told that he passed all the tests in the concussion protocol and just needed to get cleared by an independent neurologist. That'd be a big boost for the Saints passing attack, regardless of who plays quarterback.

DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND: The Saints defense has had some big opportunities this season closing out games, but in those moments, we've seen them not come through. The bad tackling has been a real eyesore, as well as some other inconsistencies. Arizona has struggled on offense, and they just lost Marquise Brown on Sunday. DeAndre Hopkins returns from suspension, however, and they just made a trade to get Robbie Anderson from the Panthers. James Conner is also day-to-day with a knee injury. Kyler Murray is a mobile quarterback, something New Orleans has had a hard time defending against, so this week needs to see them put the clamps down to help them win a game.

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