What the Saints did to rally against — and then hold off — the underdog Eagles in Sunday's divisional playoff game was by no means "The Big Easy." But only this New Orleans team could make it look that way in a 20-14 win.
The Saints needed some adversity to prove themselves as the most complete team in the playoffs. With it, they strengthened their status as odds-on favorites to win Super Bowl 53.
MORE: Full Saints-Eagles playoff highlights
Considering the final scores on a weekend when all four higher seeds coming off byes won at home, the Saints had the fewest style points — literally. The Chiefs, Rams and Patriots all scored 30 or more points and were mostly in control of their matchups from the get-go.
Still, the Saints were most impressive of all, with both the calm, methodical approach to erase a 14-0 deficit and the cool intensity not to blow a fourth-quarter lead. They also had to dispatch the red-hot reigning Super Bowl champions, not an opponent new to the playoff field like the Colts, Cowboys or Chargers.
They say to be the best, you need to beat the best. The Saints survived and advanced without a repeat of the Minneapolis Miracle because of their strengths in three phases of the game and their unflappable leaders.
WATCH: Top 10 plays of NFL divisional playoffs
When Drew Brees threw an interception on the Saints' first offensive snap, and when the Eagles rolled to a two-touchdown lead with more Nick Foles magic, there should have been a sense of impending doom in New Orleans. Instead, coach Sean Payton got his team to trust its advantages and dominate the rest of the game.
Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara were stuffed on the ground early in the game, and the deep passes to receiver Ted Ginn Jr. were not available. The Saints' response was Brees getting into rhythm in the short-to-intermediate passing game with a lot of Michael Thomas.
The Saints' pass rush was not doing much to rattle Foles, and the secondary was out of place. No problem there, either — they leaned on their strong run defense to get Foles in consistently long down-and-distance situations, and they forced the QB and his receivers to try to deliver at a high degree of difficulty in a one-dimensional offense.
Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore got the comeback started in the second quarter with an exceptional interception, followed by a fourth-down conversion on a fake punt. The Saints, thanks to Payton's aggressiveness and faith in therm, rebounded with no signs of wilting under pressure.
The signature series of moments was the Saints' 18-play, 92-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the second half, which chewed up 11:29 of the third quarter. They started it at their 8-yard line, still down four points. They ended it with the lead for good, overcoming multiple penalties and a few questionable play calls.
Those penalties — which in the end added up to 11 for 84 yards — seemingly limited how good New Orleans was able to look on paper against Philadelphia. Then again, they held the ball for 38 minutes, out-gained the Eagles 420-250 and were a combined 10-for-17 on third- and fourth-down conversions. Brees hit his big numbers (301 yards, 2 TDs, 103.1 rating) with Thomas (12 catches for 171 yards), and eventually, Kamara and Ingram gave them another 168 yards from scrimmage.
Even so, some might wonder what would have happened had the Eagles' Alshon Jeffery caught the pass from Foles inside the Saints' 20 instead of it turning into the game-sealing interception. Because many are so one-play focused in the playoffs, they might say the Saints are lucky to advance to the NFC championship game against the Rams.
But this is no voodoo. This is the Saints continuing the complete play that allowed them to go 13-3 in the regular season. If luck is indeed the residue of design, New Orleans is designed to win games in a variety of ways.
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Sunday's game was a slugfest compared to the 48-7 blowout win for the Saints over the Eagles in the regular season. But the result was the same. Next week, the Saints will be just as comfortable in another rematch, against the Rams, whom they beat 45-35 in the regular season.
With few holes on their roster, and with coaches who put them in positions to succeed, the Saints' talent and execution is evident. Having both Brees and Payton, who know what it takes to win it all, is a bonus asset.
Before the season, SN picked the Saints to win Super Bowl 53 because of all the exact qualities they showed against the Eagles.
In a playoff round where all the heavy hitters came out swinging, the Saints got it done in their own, counter-punching way that ballooned into their usual knockout.
