Derek Carr References Michael Jordan in The Last Dance as Motivation After Saints Win

The New Orleans Saints started off the 2024 season with a bang, rolling the Carolina Panthers 47-10 in an NFC South showdown.

It's unlikely that the Panthers will win more than a few games this year, but the blowout was nonetheless impressive. After the game, quarterback Derek Carr told Albert Breer of SI.com that the Saints are setting a high bar for themselves this season:

"We won nine games [last year] and that's fine, but it's not our standard. When you don't win enough, no one is going to respect you. That is what it is, whether it's right or wrong. You use everything for motivation. Like Michael Jordan during The Last Dance, you can make up stories in your head and doing all that. But for me and for our guys, we just kept our mindset so locked in on the job, not worrying about what's being said on the outside.

"I was just so proud of how we attacked the offseason, and to us in the building we felt like we were ready to play this season. We felt like we had a good team."

Carr, 33, was excellent in the contest, finishing 19-of-23 for 200 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and just one sack taken. He had a solid debut season for the Saints last year as well, throwing for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight picks while completing 68.4 percent of his passes.

The NFC South remains wide open this season, and the Saints should be in the running to claim that divisional crown. That is the standard the team is aspiring to this season.