Saints don’t need no stinking bye

METAIRIE – So the New Orleans Saints aren’t the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Not even No. 2.

No week to rest up. No extra time to prepare for the first game.

New Orleans’ road to the Super Bowl – which begins with a wild-card playoff against Minnesota on Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome – will have to go through Green Bay.

Yes, in January.

It might have to go through San Francisco as well.

It won’t be easy, but it’s not supposed to be easy.

It’s not as easy as it would have been if Detroit hadn’t blown a two-touchdown lead in the second half or if a Seattle receiver could have gained a few more inches – or even the Saints could have stopped a fourth and 2 against the 49ers back on Dec. 8.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Sound familiar?

But none of that matters as much as it might seem.

We’ll be bombarded this weekend with statistics on how many teams have gone to the Super Bowl based on whether they had a bye, where they were seeded, how many home games they had.

Yes, rest is good.

Yes, it’s easier to have to win just two games instead of three.

Yes, it’s better to play at home than on the road.

But the playoffs determine who the best team is.

The best team doesn’t get fazed by not having a bye.

The best team doesn’t fret about playing an extra game.

The best team doesn’t really pay attention to what city or stadium it’s playing in.

It’s too busy proving that it is the best team.

This Saints’ quest to get back to the Super Bowl on the 10-year anniversary of the organization’s only trip there isn’t just about what lies ahead in the next three weeks.

It’s also about the recent past.

When they take the field Sunday it will have been 721 days since the “Minneapolis Miracle.”

You remember – one defensive stop from going to the NFC Championship, desperation pass, what should have been a harmless completion, whiff on an attempted tackle, 61-yard sprint to the end zone as time expires and the Saints’ 2017 season ended.

It was brutal.

And it galvanized the Saints.

They came back in 2018 determined to put that loss behind them and move on.

They went 13-3, earned that hallowed No. 1 seed, rested up, squeaked past Philadelphia and hosted the Rams in the NFC Championship.

The end of the 2018 season was the end of the 2017 season on steroids.

You remember – the most egregious, season-turning officiating blunder in the history of professional football snatched a trip to the Super Bowl from the Saints’ grasp and handed it to the Rams.

It was brutal. Worse than the Minneapolis Miracle.

And it galvanized the Saints.

They came back in 2019 determined to put that, uh, loss behind them and move on.

The Saints lost the most productive passer in the history of passing footballs for five games. Won every one of them.

They did it again. Third straight NFC South championship, another 13-3 finish.

Shoulda been good enough for a bye. Coulda been good enough for the No. 1 seed. Woulda been a big letdown for another team.

But not this one.

Minneapolis Miracle?

No pass interference? No review? No problem.

“I think it says a lot about our group to be able to take some of those unfortunate circumstances and be able to turn that into something positive and use that as fuel, use that as a way to bring us closer together and fight through that adversity to bring out the best in all of us,” Drew Brees said this week.

You think a third game, some chilly weather and maybe back-to-back road games is going to matter to this bunch?

Forget the seedings.

Forget the lost bye.

Forget the venues.

Those things are a result of regular-season performances.

The playoffs determine who the best team is.

Minnesota? Are you kidding me?

Philadelphia? Seattle? Get some guys healthy and we can talk. Maybe.

Green Bay? Nice team – and a one-and-done waiting to happen.

San Francisco? Real good team – probably the home team in the NFC Championship Game.

New Orleans? Drew Brees may be at his Drew Brees-iest ever on the advent of the playoffs. The offense is ascending – 36 points per game over the last five. Brees in December – 75 percent, 15 touchdowns, zero interceptions.

The defense is bruised but back on track.

Special teams are top notch.

And the Saints’ shoulders – led by Sean Payton’s – hold more chips than a Doritos warehouse.

Back in May, defensive end Cameron Jordan came up with the definitive perspective on how the last two Saints seasons have ended.

“At some point,” Jordan said, “it feels like it takes a miracle to beat the Saints.”

Jordan is the most colorful Saints player when it comes to interviews. He’s always searching for one-liners during his locker-room Q-and-As.

But this week he was different. He was focused. He was serious. No one-liners.

He reflected on those last two playoff losses, the way these last two teams have come back stronger – and the latest opportunity that awaits this team.

“We’ve overcome so many different things,” Jordan said. “I feel like when we play our best football nobody can touch us. It’s just on us.

“There’s even more of a determination factor. You have to want it each and every time you take the field. You’ve only got so many opportunities and now in the playoffs you’re talking about single elimination. It’s that much more important that you rely not only on the 53 guys that you have in the locker room, but also the experience that you have from everything that you’ve been through before.”

No, the proverbial road to the Super Bowl doesn’t go through New Orleans.

But if any team knows how to navigate detours and get back on track – it’s this one.