Inside Derek Carr's quick start under Saints OC Klint Kubiak | Saints

In the offseason, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning gave Derek Carr the same advice. As the New Orleans Saints were building a new offense, the two legendary former quarterbacks stressed that Carr would need lots of reps and more reps to really feel comfortable in a new system.

Frankly, Carr already knew this better than most. After all, learning a new offense for the quarterback had become what felt like an annual affair.

However, the conversations with Brees and Manning gave him an idea: What if there was a way to increase his playing time before the season even started?

“In the end, it helped,” Carr said.

Carr began organizing team activities and, during training camp, what he called “double practices.” Before the Saints' practice began, Carr would go over the day's practice script with offensive assistant Jordan Traylor so the quarterback could review every play and throw he would make later that morning or afternoon. Carr scheduled the practices so that after the completion of his first practice, there would be a 10-minute break – just enough time before the real practice began.

After two games, Carr sees that his work is paying off – and then some.

After Sunday's 44-19 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the 33-year-old now has a passer rating of 142.4, the best start of his 11-year career. Carr's five touchdowns, a 76.9 percent pass rate and 11.4 yards per attempt are also personal bests after two games.

“I just made a promise to our team and our city that I'm going to do everything in my power – it's not going to be perfect – but I'm going to do everything in my power and do everything I can … to be better this year,” Carr said. “So far, we're off to a good start.”

It helps that Carr plays in a system designed to maximize his strengths. What makes Carr's start so amazing is that despite his efficiency, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is asking him to throw less than ever before.

Carr's 39 pass attempts in two weeks are by far his fewest. Carr's only other season with fewer than 60 pass attempts in that span was 2015, when Carr was injured in the Oakland Raiders' opening game and replaced by Matt McGloin. From 2014 to 2023, in Weeks 1 and 2, Carr averaged nearly 36 passes per game. This year, that number is 19.5.

“He's a little freer because he doesn't have to control every single action at the line of scrimmage,” coach Dennis Allen said of Carr. “He can really go out there and play.”

The Saints also didn't need Carr to throw the ball repeatedly. New Orleans was so efficient and dominant on the ground that the Saints took Carr out of the game in the fourth quarter on two consecutive plays to rest him for the following week. In the fourth quarter this season, Carr has thrown just five passes, which is the lowest among those who have started at quarterback.

Don’t confuse inaction with ineffectiveness.

When Carr dropped back this season, he was one of the best in the league. Against the Cowboys, for example, Carr threw a 70-yard touchdown to Rashid Shaheed that flew nearly 55 yards. Shaheed created space by using his incredible speed to break through Dallas' secondary, but Carr still had to have the accuracy, timing and power to hit him that far down the field.

“We saw two safeties high up, that's not necessarily the reason for that throw, but Derek threw it out for me,” Shaheed said. “That was all Derek. That was a perfect ball. All I had to do was run. And the ball literally landed in my lap. Cheers to 4.”

Although his approach of doubling his reps was new, this isn't the first time in his career that Carr has started the season 2-0. In four other seasons, Carr has tied that record – including last year when the Saints beat the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers.

The records may be the same, but the performances are not. Last year, under (now former) offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, Carr had just an 80.2 passer rating with one touchdown and two interceptions. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Saints won both of last season's games by a combined four points.

Carr knew he needed to get off to a faster start, so he scheduled separate meetings with Brees and Manning. But the visits and work didn't end there. In addition to Traylor, Carr scheduled additional meetings with Kubiak to discuss the finer points of the offense.

“I'm sure Klint was really tired of me coming up there every day,” Carr said.