Key Ingredients to Victory: Saints vs. Broncos

Rattler isn’t the only rookie quarterback starter in this one. Denver’s Bo Nix has started all six games for the Broncos and has completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,082 yards with five touchdowns, and five interceptions. He only has thrown one interception in the past four games, so the defense will have to create opportunities from a quarterback who has protected the ball. The Saints had three picks against Tampa Bay and have 10 this season, but that number only will increase in conjunction with pressure. Four sacks in the last three games just isn’t good enough. Nix only has been sacked nine times and has run for 180 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries. The number of times mobile quarterbacks have caused severe damage to the Saints’ defense in the last three to four seasons easily tops 10 and may scratch the low 20s. Getting close isn’t working often enough; getting Nix on the ground is paramount. Can Dennis Allen’s defense confuse the rookie?

New Orleans needs to be the cleanest version of itself, to help Rattler. That means pre-snap offensive penalties and pesky, spirit-snatching penalties on defense must be minimized. New Orleans is deep enough into the season for some of these issues to be a lot less glaring and frequent.

While Saints players and coaches have worked to concentrate on the task and not the circus surrounding Payton’s return, fans don’t have any such responsibilities or restrictions. They fervently want to see these Saints attach an ‘L’ to Payton’s resume, and they’ll be on edge. If the team can get off to an early start, and keep the crowd involved, that’ll go a long way toward providing an adrenaline boost. Obviously, this is a big game for a team that last lost four straight, but it also carries a great deal of weight for a fan base that Payton helped rejuvenate after Hurricane Katrina.