It might be voodoo, but the Saints have experienced an awakening
By Josh Hill
New Orleans looked D.O.A. to start the season, but are now very much in the mix for an NFC South title and one final playoff push.
Every year there is a team that looks flat in the preseason and ends up having the bottom fall out before the season is over. Everything seemed to suggest that would be the New Orleans Saints, especially after an uninspired 0-2 start.
Now the Saints are on a three-game winning streak, and on Sunday proved that they might be using some bayou voodoo to channel the success of their former selves.
New Orleans needed every single second and 51-points to pull it off, but Sean Payton’s team is now 3-2 and in serious contention for an NFC South title. The Falcons and Panthers both lost in Week 6, and suddenly opened a lane no one thought would be there, let alone that the Saints would dart through it.
It wasn’t a clean win. In fact, it’s about the dirtiest way a team will win this weekend, but it’s vintage Saints. A shootout for the ages that Drew Brees controlled and weathered.
A lot of people might harp on the fact that New Orleans needed a 45-10 cushion to hold off the Lions (and that’s a justified criticism/concern) but they managed to do it. The defense is a giant question mark, but New Orleans collected a win that could end up helping to propel them to a playoff spot.
New Orleans showed a grit and determination that has been lacking in recent years. It’s not the only shootout win they’ve had but this one is different in that it comes at the right time. The NFC South is wide open and the Wild Card situation is even more lucrative.
On a Sunday in which we watched the Patriots limp to a victory over the Jets, again reminding us of an era that is coming to an end, New Orleans did what it did. The Brees-Payton era is living on borrowed ready to expire, but the clock hasn’t run out just yet.
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Perhaps there’s one more valiant push left. Regardless, Sunday proves it’s going to be a lot of fun finding out.