Saints linebacker Demario Davis excited for first career playoff berth, ‘but this is just a step’
 

This is why Demario Davis signed with the New Orleans Saints.

After six NFL seasons without playing in the postseason, Davis thought the Saints — especially with Drew Brees at quarterback — were his best option to avoid having early vacation again, and that proved to be the case as they clinched the NFC South championship last Sunday.

Like many Saints players, Davis was quick to note that this wasn’t the team’s only goal. It’s nice to earn a spot in the playoffs and to do it by clinching the division, but the Davis and the Saints still have bigger goals.

“I’m appreciative of where we’re at, but this is just a step,” Davis said after the Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday. “I’m happy with this milestone. I give all the glory to God because I’ve been on this journey to get to this point my whole career, and that was a big reason why I signed here to have this opportunity. It was almost like you could foresee it, and now we have this opportunity in front of us.

“You’re grateful, but you got to look at it as just a step. Now, we got more work to do. We’re on a mission, so it’s good to be a part of it.”

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Davis, who previously played five seasons with the Jets and one with the Browns, was glad to be a part of the Saints’ postgame celebration on Sunday, too, because he’d never experienced the joy of clinching a spot in the postseason.

Davis has been as much a part of the Saints’ success this year as anyone. He leads the team with 95 tackles, and he’s also contributed nine tackles for loss, three sacks, eight quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed, showing why the team made him its highest-paid free agent this offseason.

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