NEW ORLEANS — It was stunning in the best possible way.
The defense was dominant and opportunistic, and the offense pounded away with a terrific day from the quarterback and a career day from the tight end.
And with one week to go, the Saints are alive for the playoffs – still longshots, but alive – and that didn't seem possible after the loss to the Rams.
And let's start our four takeaways with that.
#4) Ignore empty calories...
I said that last week when the Saints made their fourth-quarter run in Los Angeles, and ignore it this week, too.
Sure, the Saints got too conservative holding the lead, but New Orleans had done so much right to build that lead.
I never really believed the Bucs could win.
#3) Now I don't feel so stupid...
This was just a solid victory in all phases.
And for me personally, the overriding feeling was, now I don't feel so stupid.
Back at training camp, I predicted the Saints would win 10 games this season. They can still win nine, so I'm not that far off. But I was genuinely optimistic about this team's chances to win the division.
And all season, with loss after disappointing loss, I'm asking myself what did I see in this team that I liked so much? Then Sunday came and the Saints undressed one of the NFL's hottest teams and I thought, 'that's the team I thought I'd see more of this season.'
The one Saints player I targeted in fantasy football was Juwan Johnson.
I loved the things he did in camp. On Sunday, he showed enormous upside with career highs in targets, catches and receiving yards.
His second-quarter catch was just brilliant, and his quarterback was excellent.
I thought Derek Carr's back-shoulder touchdown pass to Taysom Hill with the pass rush in his face might have been his best throw this season.
And unlike Baker Mayfield, he was mistake-free.
On this given Sunday, we saw a lot of the positives we thought we'd see from Carr all season.
#2) Unexpected stars...
The stars of this game are certainly unexpected.
Johnathan Abram was a Raiders first-round draft pick, who they cut last year.
Abram did enough in camp to stick around and he played sparingly until Sunday when he was everywhere – personally responsible for two of the Saints' four turnovers.
And give credit to Andrus Peat and the offensive line with only one sack allowed and over a hundred rushing yards. No one expected Peat to be the Saints' left tackle this season and he and the O-line were really effective Sunday.
#1) The Big Finish
Sunday's performance obviously helps Dennis Allen's case to keep his job next season, but we still need to see how it plays out.
Right now, the Saints have two paths to the playoffs.
The divisional route is the four seed in the playoffs, and the final wildcard spot is also possible.
To win the division, it's simple – beat the Falcons and hope the Panthers can somehow beat the Bucs.
The problem, of course, Carolina is horrible.
I think the wildcard scenario might be more doable, which is win, and then the Chicago Bears need to beat Green Bay and the Arizona Cardinals need to beat Seattle.
Together, the Saints have a 24 percent chance of getting to the postseason.
It's not likely, but it's possible.