NEW ORLEANS — If last week’s loss to the Bucs left a bad taste in the mouths of Saints players, coaches and fans, then Sunday’s 34-0 win over the Patriots was a palate cleanser.
The coming weeks will prove whether it was a sea change in the team’s fortunes or if it was, as they like to say, a “one-off.”
"I hope this is our new standard," said Saints veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan.
Nearly everything that had plagued the Saints the first few weeks turned around.
Derek Carr was efficient, if not spectacular, with 18 of 26 passing for 183 yards and two touchdowns. The Saints won the turnover battle 3-0 and Tyrann Mathieu took one of them 25 yards for the games first score.
"I thought everybody, coaches and players alike, answered the challenge this week," said head coach Dennis Allen. "They understood that the previous performance wasn't good enough."
Alvin Kamara ran efficiently with 22 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown and the Saints held the Pats in check on defense, giving up only 156 total yards and limiting the Pats to 1 of 14 on third down conversions.
After Mathieu's interception staked the Saints to a 7-0 lead, the offense kicked in with an 8-play, 62-yard drive that ended with Kamara's 73d touchdown as a Saint, making him the all-time franchise leader.
A five-play, 59-yard drive ended with a Chris Olave TD catch from Carr to make it 21-0. The Pats never seriously threatened to score a touchdown.
"I said there were gonna be some tough conversations after last game, but those conversations are between the people with Fleur-de-lis on their helmets and coaches," said Kamara. "Everyone was locked in."
Kamara said Saints offensive coordinator and play-caller Pete Carmichael particularly enjoyed the game after a week of heat, both from fans, and admittedly, from himself.
"It was good to see Pete out there having fun. It's like he took a deep breath and just exhaled," said Kamara. "We have too many playmakers to have a s-#$y offense."
The win moved the Saints to 3-2 on the season with a game at Houston next week.