These Saints know exactly who they are and how they can win

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The formula has been established.

Suffocating defense.

Timely special teams.

And an efficient, don’t-beat-yourself, ground-based offense.

This is how the 2021 New Orleans Saints are going to win games this season. More accurately, this is how the Saints must win games this season. Because this is who they are. And just know that three games into the season, the Saints know it.

The Saints found their identity in a dominant 28-13 win against the New England Patriots here on a spectacular fall afternoon at Gillette Stadium. The only thing more impressive than the weather was the way the Saints executed their game plan to record their first win in New England in nearly three decades.

Almost to a man, they followed Coach Sean Payton’s messaging throughout the week leading up to kickoff.

Limit the turnovers and reduce mistakes. Check. The Saints did not commit a turnover and had only two penalties for 15 years.

Win in the trenches. Check. The Saints outrushed the Patriots 142-49.

Control the clock. Check. The Saints owned a 32:48-27:12 advantage in time possession.

Dominate key situations. Check. The Saints were 3 for 4 in the red zone and 2 for 2 in goal-to-go situations, while holding the Patriots to 7-of-19 third-down conversions and 0 for 1 in the red zone.

Play great on special teams. Check, kind of. The Saints blocked a punt, and took advantage of punter Blake Gillikin’s strong right leg and Deonte Harris’ dazzling return skills to own a 5-yard advantage in starting field position, starting on their own 33. The Saints were so dominant that Aldrick Rosas’ two missed field goals didn’t factor into the equation.

“We played Saints football,” quarterback Jameis Winston said. “That’s how we’re playing right now. We protected the football and got a great win.”

Truth be told, this is what Saints football has looked like for the past few seasons. The defense is the strength of this team and has been for a couple of years now. The days of the Saints going out and winning offensive shootouts have long since passed.

Fact is, the Saints don’t have to win games that way anymore. Not with this defense.

How dominant is this 'D'?

The Saints won for the second time this season against a quality opponent with Winston throwing for fewer than 150 yards.

Know how many times they did that in Drew Brees’ 15-year tenure? Twice.

“I think we’re starting to see that we’re the strength of our team,” veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “And we’re going to have to play big in order for our team to have success. And that is just the identity and the formula that seems to be working for us. When we’re playing stingy on defense, we take the ball away and give our offense opportunities and then we get our special teams contributing like they have been, we’re going to be hard to beat.”

Not many teams waltz into Gillette Stadium and dominate the Patriots the way the Saints did Sunday.

Tom Brady or no Tom Brady, the Patriots remain a formidable foe. They are still coached by Bill Belichick and coordinated offensively by Josh McDaniels. They don’t just know the formula for winning football games in the modern NFL: They essentially invented it. All those Super Bowl banners are hanging above the scoreboard for a reason.

The Saints, after all, hadn’t won here since 1995 when Jim Mora was the coach and Jim Everett was the quarterback.

And yet the Saints went out and controlled this game from start to finish. They never trailed and never were seriously threatened after Jenkins gave them a 21-3 lead with a pick-six on the first play of the second half.

The Saints beat the Patriots at their own game. They followed the Patriot Way better than Belichick and his own team did.

“Just being in this league long enough, sometimes that formula has to change,” Payton said. “We felt like going in that we wanted to effectively run the football. Obviously, ball security, playing in here, is a must when you consider their record at home (an NFL-best 86-17 since 2008). … I thought all three phases did a good job today.”

These Saints might not be as sexy or as fun to watch as previous teams in the Payton era. In the end, they might be every bit as effective and potentially more successful.

Their identity is set. Their formula for winning has been established.

Like all good New Orleanians, the Saints know a good recipe when they see one.