NFC Notes: Derek Carr, Bryce Young, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers LB Shaquil Barrett had a sack and an interception return for a touchdown in Week 2. Upon scoring, he blew a kiss to the sky to celebrate the memory of his two-year-old daughter Arrayah who passed away in an accident back in April.

“I always play for my family already, but then having that extra incentive, it makes me want to go a little harder for her,” Barrett told reporters, via the team website. “It never stops sucking. It is always going to suck but to be able to shine a spotlight on her a little bit and when the camera was on me after I made the play, I told her, ‘I love you. I miss you. Wish you were here.’ I am glad I am able to still get some spotlight for her and for the Lord above because He is the reason we are here right now. I am just trusting His plan.”

“It’s unbelievable. You can’t even fathom going through something like that,” HC Todd Bowles said of Barrett. “To see him go through it and come out on the other side — and I’m sure he still has days — but to play like he’s playing right now, to be where he is right now is unbelievable.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Frank Reich made it clear to reporters that the team’s offensive struggles on Monday night did not fall squarely on the shoulders of rookie QB Bryce Young.

“Our struggle on offense — it’s not one person,” Reich said, via the team website. “I will look at the film, but I thought Bryce still did some really positive things, made some plays with his feet, made some good decisions, made good throws, and showed plenty of things that we want to see. So I was encouraged by that. I know how hard it is to play that position. I’ve been around it a long time. And I know how dependent it is on everything. So we’ve all got to get better. Everybody’s got to get better — coaches and players. So that’s the way we work through it.”

Saints

Saints QB Derek Carr noted that the team’s defense was a big reason for his decision to head to New Orleans this past offseason.

“That is a very big part of the reason why I came here,” Carr said, via Pro Football Talk. “Any team that I talked to was a team with a defense. I played these guys. I knew Dennis Allen. I know what it is like and how difficult it is. All I want to do is win. So, I was like, shoot, if I can go there and have a day like today — didn’t play my best in the first half, come back, play good in the second half and win a game? Like, I didn’t have to be perfect for four quarters and we won. That is awesome. I don’t like that still. We won, but I am still sick because I should have played better. I can help the offense more. I sit back and I am already analyzing it, right? But to have that defense to hold us, keep us in there until we got clicking in the second half, I mean, it helped us win the football game.”