New Orleans Saints: Balance, defense key to turnaround
A switch in philosophy has been the key to the New Orleans Saints turnaround. Can any team prevent Sean Payton’s club from reaching Super Bowl LIII?
With the NFL’s best win-loss record entering Week 17, the New Orleans Saints have proven that balance is the key to success. And that’s why last season’s turnaround from a 0-2 start to NFC South champion was the springboard for this season’s even more impressive showing.
After three consecutive 7-9 finishes from 2014-16, there was an awful lot of pressure on head coach Sean Payton to turn things around. Under his guidance early in his career, the Saints were a consistent contender and in 2009, finished 13-3 and would eventually capture Super Bowl XLIV.
After following a 0-2 start a year ago in which the club was pushed around by the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots in the span of seven days, the buzzards were circling once again. But in their last 29 regular-season outings, the Saints own an impressive 24-5 record. And one of the keys has been an offense that can beat you without a huge outing from the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage.
The numbers are somewhat mind-boggling. In 2017, Payton’s club featured the second-ranked offense in the league in terms of yards per game. The Saints were fifth in the NFL in rushing and fifth in yards per game through the air. New Orleans scored 23 touchdowns on the ground and another 23 through the air.
Fast forward to this year’s performance to date. It’s already been announced that quarterback Drew Brees would not start the regular season finale against the Carolina Panthers. But after 15 games, Peyton squad is sixth in total yards per contest. New Orleans is 10th in the league in rushing yards per game and 11th in passing yards. There have been a total of 57 offensive touchdowns — 25 rushing and 32 receiving.
It’s quite the turnaround for a team that for many years was very pass happy and in many ways that hurt the club’s defensive unit. Simply put, all of those seasons of 5,000-plus passing yards didn’t add up to a championship.
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This is a New Orleans Saints’ team that could set a franchise record on Sunday with 14 regular-season wins. In a span of seven days, Payton’s club won a 12-9 road game at Carolina and survived a shootout at home, 31-28, vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team’s offensive approach has been beneficial to the defense as well, one that ranks 13th in the NFL in fewest yards allowed per game and is first in the league against the run. It’s a team playing great complimentary football and could be very hard to beat this postseason.