Saints Still Have Work to Do but Are Back on Track After Big Win over Packers

The New Orleans Saints' obituary has been written too soon. 

With a huge 44-23 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week 8, the Saints improved to 3-4 on the season, which certainly isn't where they want to be, but it isn't the end-of-the-world type of doom and gloom that so many critics have tried to paint for the Saints so early in the year. 

The win itself was about as impressive as one could expect, with quarterback Drew Brees completing 27 of 32 passes for 311 yards (9.7-yard average), three touchdowns and no interceptions. Getting running back Mark Ingram back was a huge factor for the Saints as well, as he had 172 yards on 24 carries (7.2-yard average) and a touchdown. Mike Triplett of ESPN NFL Nation tweeted Payton's thoughts on Brees:

The Saints are not the team many of us thought they would be, but they're not dead yet. This is the sort of game that can jump-start so much more. Brees even said as much in his postgame interview with NBC's Michele Tafoya: "The season's passing us by. So, we had to get it together...great night to do it."

At 3-4, the Saints can finish locking up first place in the NFC South with a win next week on Thursday Night Football against the 3-4-1 Carolina Panthers.

This is a Panthers team that has been floundering in recent weeks and hasn't won since October 5, against the Chicago Bears. In that span, the Panthers have two losses and a tie. They're coming off a nine-point scoring effort at home against a Seattle Seahawks team that isn't playing that well as of late. 

So, I'm saying there's a chance. 

After the Panthers, New Orleans hosts San Francisco, Cincinnati and Baltimore for a three-game homestand. Those three teams probably scare a lot more people on paper than in real life at a combined 13-8-1, especially when one considers the Saints are undefeated at home and the Superdome has been one of the toughest home-field advantages for a long time. 

The Saints going 4-0 over the next four weeks is entirely conceivable, but in this year's NFC South, even .500 over the next quarter of the season keeps them in contention. 

Yes, it might be a low bar, but the point is that they can almost certainly clear it. 

That's assuming the Saints continue to be the team they've been. 

They can be better. 

The NFL season is not a static thing. Teams are not known commodities in Week 1 that don't have room for growth or decline. Ironically, though many considered the Packers favorites in their Week 8 matchup (67 percent picked them to beat the Saints over at Pickwatch), it was only a few weeks ago when people started trying to sneak nails into Green Bay's coffin. 

Stop trying to end the season before it even begins! CBS Sports' Pete Prisco felt Brees proved the naysayers wrong:

The Saints went through plenty of turnover on offense this season with players such as rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks replacing old standbys such as running back Darren Sproles and wide receiver Lance Moore. While many have wanted to fire coordinators or put head coach Sean Payton on the hot seat for weeks now, maybe it was just always foolhardy to expect anything but a slow start to the season for the Saints. 

I'm not saying it is, but what if this 3-4 record is just that—a slow start—and only that?

What if this victory against Green Bay and the upcoming homestand is the start of something more—something better?

That's obviously the plan, as Ingram said: 

"

We have to continue to get better. The improvement we made from last week to this week, we have to make that same improvement from this week to Thursday. So, we just gotta keep improving, keep getting better...not being soft in the film room, keep critiquing ourselves...

"

The Saints offense looked so much better with Ingram pacing it on the night. Though Pierre Thomas, Travaris Cadet and Khiry Robinson are all unique, capable talents in their own way, Ingram has been having a fantastic season overall, averaging almost 100 yards from scrimmage in games where he's been healthy. 

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Ingram missed three games this season with a broken hand before coming back against a ridiculously tough Detroit Lions defense this week.

It's a contract year for Ingram, and he's looked motivated when on the field. The Saints have rewarded him by giving him the ball when he's been healthy. He's averaged 16.25 touches a game this season. 

Following the game, Brees said about Ingram:

"

We had two backs down—Pierre [Thomas] and Khiry [Robinson]—So, Mark carried the load and did it masterfully. Obviously guys up front did a heckuva job to get him the holes he got, but he made a lot of guys miss, broke a lot of tackles. He just did what we all know he can do. 

"

In case you're wondering: The Saints' upcoming opponents are ranked 26th (Panthers), fifth (49ers), 30th (Bengals) and seventh (Baltimore) against the run. Again, that's looking like a 2-2—at worst—kind of immediate future at first glance. NFL.com's Chris Wesseling shared a stat comparison for Ingram:

That's the crux of this issue, isn't it?

Maybe this isn't cause for jubilant celebration for the Saints. Maybe they don't use this impressive victory as a springboard for something more. Maybe it's just more evidence that the Packers aren't quite ready for prime time and that the Saints are pretty darn bulletproof at home. 

In that case, the Saints will spend the rest of the season winning their home games and losing on the road. Or, maybe they simply win the games they're supposed to against vastly overmatched competition and wilt against anyone who puts up a fight. 

In those worst-case scenarios, the Saints are still going 8-8 and potentially winning the NFC South. At worst, they're still in the conversation very late in the season with a (somewhat) veteran team and a more-than-capable quarterback (understatement) who can help them get over the hump. 

This isn't the Saints team that many looked forward to seeing in 2014, but there's still time for it to get awfully close. For a city and team that love being underdogs, they might have the rest of the NFL exactly where they want them. 

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.