The last time the Saints moved into first place in the NFC South, they celebrated by losing three straight games at home.
When they beat the Steelers on the road in Week 13, they celebrated by falling flat on their faces against the Panthers at home.
Thanks to the miserable overall state of the NFC South, they have moved back into control of the division but they really can’t afford a similar stumble this time. The Saints will take on the Falcons at the Superdome next Sunday and they’ll need to put together consecutive wins for the second time this season to remain in position to decide their own fate in the race for the division crown.
“I think we’ve shown a couple times that we can respond to adversity. Let’s make sure we can handle success too,” Brees said, via the team’s website. “Learning how to handle success is as important, or even more important than handling the adversity. We’ve all been in those situations enough. Typically when you lose a game and you have guys coming in and you’re real hard on yourself, and coaches are on you, and that week’s practice is amped up a bit, the tendency after success is to relax, and it’s not time to relax. It’s time to get another win and continue to get better.”
The Saints got off to as sloppy as a start as the Bears on Monday night, but were able to find their footing while the Bears continued to circle the drain for the remainder of the evening. A crisper beginning would be advisable the next time out if the Saints are going to recapture their home mojo in time to get themselves one more home game in January.