Key Ingredients to Victory: Saints vs. Falcons

It’s deliciously tempting to consider the “what if” of the season right now, but the “what is” is that the New Orleans Saints (6-10), winners of four straight games for the first time since the team won nine straight in 2020, are heading to Atlanta to play the Falcons (7-9) on Sunday in the season finale at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Saints are closing on a promising note, with only four teams currently owning longer winning streaks and a chance to spring into an offseason that already is full of hope.

The spring will be a lot better with a win against their NFC South Division rival. Here are a few ways to extend the streak to five:

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is on an impressive three-game heater — 913 yards passing, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The trust earned while producing without several starters (at receiver, right guard, left guard, running back, right tackle) throughout his eight starts lends itself to more trust. But his job got more difficult this week: Receiver Chris Olave, who caught 48 passes for 660 yards and six touchdowns in Shough’s eight starts and established career highs with 100 catches for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns, is out after a blood clot was found in his lung. Shough’s receiving corps will begin with Kevin Austin Jr. and Dante Pettis if Mason Tipton is unavailable, but this could be another big game for tight end Juwan Johnson, who already has career highs in catches (74) and yards (828). Shough will be under pressure — Atlanta’s 53 sacks are second most in the league — so he needs to be quick and decisive. Protection must hold and Johnson has to make himself available.

Credit the Saints’ patience with the running game against Tennessee, because most of the damage was done in the second half. Audric Estimé (14 carries, 94 yards) broke free for the game-sealing, 32-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to account for 31 percent of the Saints’ 103 rushing yards. The Falcons allow 127 yards per game, seventh most in the league, but they usually play New Orleans tough in the run game. The Saints have to position themselves — an early lead would help — to make the run game effective.