K Major

The Saints defense of the past four weeks hasn’t been the same defense of the past three seasons.

Suddenly, there’s been a pass rush. Points haven’t been going up as frequently. The passing defense has been acceptable. Even card-carrying members of the Same-Old-Saints crew have to admit that things have been a little better the past few weeks.

The team has allowed an average of 377 yards, including 281 passing and 95 rushing, the past four weeks. Taking away the points surrendered by the offense, the defense has allowed 19.75 points per game over that span.

Sure, the quality of opponent has to be considered. The 49ers aren’t exactly lighting things up, the Saints saw a banged up version of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, and the Denver Broncos don’t exactly scare people, but the numbers of late have been considerably better than they have been. Taking the whole season into account, New Orleans is allowing 400.6 yards and 29.2 points per game.

For a team that has struggled more often than not the past three seasons, the progress is notable.

Saints defense has performed well the last 4 weeks, but Carolina could test the progress | Saints | theadvocate.com