New Orleans Saints make case for best team in NFC
By John Buhler
At 3-1 through the first quarter of the season, the New Orleans Saints have to feel good about where they stand. Are they the best team in the NFC?
When Drew Brees injured his thumb in Week 2’s road loss to the Los Angeles Rams, it seemed as though the New Orleans Saints were about to hit a rough patch of their schedule and fall back in the NFC standings. What we have seen in the two weeks since can only be described as remarkable.
With Teddy Bridgewater filling in for Brees as the team’s starting quarterback, the Saints went on the road and defeated the Seattle Seahawks among the 12s in Week 3, 33-27. Given how difficult it is to win on the road in the Pacific Northwest, the Saints were able to take a certain defeat and turn it into a huge early-season victory for Who Dat Nation.
At 2-1, New Orleans was a home dog against the previously undefeated Dallas Cowboys. No, it was not anything close to a visually appealing football game, but Bridgewater and the boys got it done against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, winning 12-10 to improve to 3-1 on the year.
All New Orleans needed was four made field goals off the strong leg of Wil Lutz to wrangle Dallas in primetime. This was the first time the Saints had won a game without scoring a touchdown since the 1998 NFL season. It seems that the Saints are for real, even with Brees on the mend. But are they the best team in the NFC? They certainly made their case for it last night.
Admittedly, this offense will continue to be limited with Bridgewater at starting quarterback. However, he is a serviceable stop-gap starter at this point in his career and certainly solid enough to keep the Saints in ball games while Brees gets his thumb back to good. Look for the offense to be more like its old self once Brees returns from injury in a few weeks.
What was impressive about the Saints on Sunday night was the defense. This was a game that Dallas was largely expected to come into the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and get a convincing victory. All the Saints’ front-seven did was limit Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott to 35 yards on 18 carries for a touchdown.
The Saints had given up at least 27 points in their first three games this year, but to contain arguably the best running back in football showed that the Saints can win games in many ways. New Orleans’ secondary kept Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in check, as he completed 22 of 33 passes for 223 yards and a pick. Outside of the third quarter, Prescott was nothing special.
Overall, the Saints are far from a finished product. We haven’t seen them play a game where they completely dominate in all three phases. The special teams continue to be outstanding, but when the offense and defense align, look out, NFC!
Through four weeks, there is no way you can’t have the Saints as one of the three best teams in the NFC. The San Francisco 49ers are the only undefeated team left in the conference, but their best win is on the road at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. So while they are a fun story through the first quarter of the season, San Francisco is completely unproven at this point.
Looking at the other top-tier teams in the NFC, the Saints’ competition for the top spot would include the Seahawks, the Cowboys, the Rams, the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. While the Rams gave the Saints their only defeat on the year, Los Angeles looked rough against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 and may not be the best team in their division.
With the Saints having victories over the Seahawks and the Cowboys, it’s easy to argue that they are the best of that trio of 3-1 NFC teams. Chicago is 3-1, but their best win is last week at home versus a so-so Minnesota Vikings team. Green Bay beat Chicago head-to-head at Soldier Field in Week 1, so we can pencil the Packers ahead of the Bears in the NFC hierarchy for the time being.
So right now, the three best teams in the NFC in some order feel like the Packers, the Rams and the Saints. All are 3-1, but it seems that the Saints have the best trio of wins among this triplet of NFC contenders. The Saints beat the Houston Texans at home, defeated Seattle on the road and upended a 3-0 Cowboys team at home to improve to 3-1.
The Rams have wins on the road versus the Carolina Panthers, home versus the Saints and at the Cleveland Browns in primetime. Green Bay has won on the road versus the Bears and has two home wins versus the Denver Broncos and the Vikings. The Packers’ lone loss thus far was on Thursday Night Football this week at home versus the Philadelphia Eagles.
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What might give the Saints the slight edge over Green Bay and Los Angeles is that they have played the toughest early schedule, won all of their home games and their only defeat came on the road when they lost their starting quarterback for six weeks. It’s a razor-thin margin, but New Orleans does have a claim to be the best team in the NFC through four weeks of the 2019 season.