Trio of tell-tale games await well-rested Saints

Hope you enjoyed the bye week, because when your Saints get back to work this Sunday, they will enter the most important three-game stretch in the 2018 season.

At the bye, New Orleans looked like the second-best team in the NFC. Quarterback Drew Brees, who broke the NFL record for passing yards in a career, was off to a very fast start. 

Brees had thrown 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He led the NFL in both completion percentage (77.9) and quarterback rating (122.3).

Saints running back Alvin Kamara had five rushing touchdowns, and running back Mark Ingram scored on two runs in his return in a Monday night victory over Washington.

The Saints defense improved significantly after a season-opening loss to Tampa Bay. That loss looks more like an outlier with each passing week.

And, head coach Sean Payton is beginning to get contributions from the top of his 2018 draft class. Defensive end Marcus Davenport has two sacks and a forced fumble, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith has two touchdown receptions.

So, the black-and-gold arrow is pointed up.

The Saints will be tested severely the next two weeks with road games at Baltimore and Minnesota. It is critical that the Saints win at least one of the next two games, if not both.

In the seventh and eighth week, those road games are critical. Why? Because while the Saints are on the road at Baltimore and Minnesota, the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams will be prohibitive favorites at San Francisco and home against the Green Bay Packers.

If the Saints win their next two games, they would tie the Rams in the loss column with a victory over Los Angeles in the Superdome Nov. 4. That game will kick off at 3:25 p.m. for a reason. It is a national TV game.

It’s the single most important game in the NFC, nine weeks into the regular season. In early November, home field in the NFC playoffs could be at stake.

Over the past three seasons, the Saints have upgraded their talent level and attempted to be less quarterback-dependent. In a road playoff game, solid defense and a top-shelf running attack would take the pressure off the club’s franchise quarterback to have to make too many plays.

However, the Saints’ playoff record is still the elephant in the room. In the Sean Payton era, the Saints have won all five playoff home games, and won only one of six playoff road games.

This season, Brees is again flourishing at home. He’s completing 83.5 percent of his passes thrown at 1500 Poydras St., with eight touchdown passes and a passer rating of 131.6.

On the road, Brees is completing 70.4 percent of his throws, with three touchdown passes.

Brees and the Saints at home, in the playoffs, is a daunting task for any team in the NFC, including the Los Angeles Rams. The Saints’ job is to make sure that the Nov. 4 game in the Superdome looks just as big in two weeks as it does now.

Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].