I'm going to choose to believe that what ultimately happened on Sunday was a result of the football gods rewarding one of the handful of teams to ever overcome an 0-2 start to put themselves in a position to host a home playoff game. The alternative is that the Saints saved their worst for last as they backed their way into a division title, so - purely out of a desperate need to remain optimistic headed into the postseason - I'm going to err on the side of divine intervention by those responsible for overseeing the unpredictability of the National Football League. The truth of the matter is that the most encouraging aspect of the Saints' game this past weekend is what it means for upcoming games during future weekends. Week 17 was proof that plans are highly subject to change in professional sports, but if the Saints do put almost every goddamned thing that happened against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind them and stick to the script then it reads rather favorably for them. A home matchup against a divisional opponent they've already dominated twice? A #1 seed whose offense has been neutered by an injury to their MVP-caliber quarterback likely awaiting them thereafter? Ironically, the only reason I am hesitant to pencil the Saints into the NFC Championship is the inexcusable effort that highlighted their biggest flaws while somehow defying conventional wisdom in giving them the "easiest" path to get there. It is somewhat settling that Sean Payton is no stranger to the annual deflating loss to a team that - on paper - isn't worth his time, but there is a lot to fix if New Orleans wants to take advantage of the luck of a good draw. For instance, a special teams unit that's been such an ongoing issue that it was deemed beneficial to pluck a retired assistant coach straight off the beaches of his eternal vacation mid-season. The only thing more detrimental than a return game so useless that it forced the team's most indispensable offensive weapon into a more high risk role (that he has unsurprisingly dominated) is a return game that doesn't realize it's useless. When Tommy Lee Lewis fumbled away the lead after trying to return a punt that he had no business catching in the first place one thing became evident. The Saints are still in process of learning that the only way to describe their ability to flip the field as "special" is to do so in a condescending manner that trivializes the trials and tribulations of the mentally handicapped. With hard fought games that could potentially be decided by a coin flip on the horizon, limiting the damage done by a unit from which very little is expected is key. But the brunt of the loss to the Buccaneers doesn't fall solely on the shoulders of a punt returner, because - with Jameis Winston gift wrapping interceptions so quickly that it made Santa look like a selfish shopper - an offense that has gone stagnant more often than their numbers would lead you to believe repeated that trend. They may have lost the game by nothing more than a late touchdown, but if the score were measured in 3rd down efficiency then we'd probably still be counting up the point differential. The turnovers made their inability to stop the chains in their tracks look like less of a concern than their inability to move them themselves, but that disparity is a two way street and the Saints' were basically on cruise control into oncoming traffic. The road ahead looks as easily navigable as you could hope for in an absolutely loaded NFC, but it won't matter too much if the Saints don't stay in the balanced, complimentary lanes they used to travel as far as they have in what first appeared to be an inevitable train wreck of a season. This team is good enough on both sides of the ball to make a run, but in order to do so they'll have to avoid aggravating their achilles heel. I can't believe I am going to say this, but it's actually offensive inconsistency that's most likely to bring this dream season to an end. Luckily, there aren't many coach/quarterback combos I'd trust more to avoid it.
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