Can Drew Brees, Saints Cure Road Woes vs. Porous Steelers Secondary in Week 13?

The New Orleans Saints are currently facing a disheartening reality: The team has just lost three consecutive home games. For a franchise that has recently thrived on home-field advantage, this isn't particularly good news.

However, the fact that the Saints' 4-7 record is tied for best in the NFC South should be enough to temper the disappointment. 

For New Orleans, it is still too soon to start looking to next year.

What the Saints need to do is focus on their next game, a tough road matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A win here keeps New Orleans in the thick of the divisional race and would go a long way toward bucking a trend of struggling away from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Sure, the Saints haven't been especially good at home this season. Yet, that 3-3 home record appears awfully appealing in comparison to their mark of 1-4 on the road. The Saints' lone road win came four weeks ago, delivered by a 28-10 beatdown of the equally inept Carolina Panthers. 

This isn't exactly a new trend for the Saints, of course. Last season, the team was 8-0 at home, just 3-5 on the road. The team's away record in 2012 was also 3-5.

In order to finish the season strong and lay claim to the divisional crown, the Saints are going to have to put an end to their road struggles.

A trip to face the 7-4 Steelers might not seem like an ideal opportunity for the Saints to start turning things around. However, the matchup is actually a favorable one for New Orleans, at least offensively.

While the Steelers franchise will always carry a strong defensive tradition, the 2014 incarnation of this team is one that has been winning with offense (ranked seventh in the NFL, averaging 26.2 points per game).

Defensively, Pittsburgh has surrendered an average of 23.9 points (20th in the NFL) and 343.8 yards (13th) per game. On average, 241.6 of those yards have come through the air.

In terms of yardage, this give the Steelers a middle-of-the-pack ranking in pass defense (16th). However, the unit is ranked just 23rd in pass coverage among all teams, by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

The Steelers are currently tied at 19th with 19 touchdown passes allowed. They are tied at 22nd with just eight interceptions on the season.

These are certainly not the worst numbers a 7-4 team could hope to have at this point in the season. However, they do suggest that Drew Brees and the Saints' third-ranked passing attack (308.8 yards per game) should have the advantage in this matchup.

The caveat here is that the Steelers have been without star safety Troy Polamalu for the past two games and without cornerback Ike Taylor since Week 3. Both are expected back on Sunday.

Whether the return of Polamalu and Taylor makes for a dramatic difference in the Steelers secondary remains to be seen. As things stand, however, it would appear that it would greatly benefit the Saints to let the balls fly on Sunday.

In a tight division race that no one seems determined to win, every victory will be critical for New Orleans. With three of the final contests coming on the road, the time is now to start finding success away from home.

Otherwise, New Orleans will be sitting at home and watching come playoff time.