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The New Orleans Saints dismantled the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday, stealing four interceptions from wayward quarterback Jameis Winston and doing whatever they wanted on offense. It was a statement win coming off of their worst loss in recent memory, and established a strong precedent moving forward.
According to the latest NFL power rankings from Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire, that performance was enough to vault the Saints ahead of the New England Patriots to rank third-best in the league. Here’s some of what Farrar wrote to justify the Saints’ rise in Week 11:
By bracketing Mike Evans with cornerback P.J. Williams and safety Marcus Williams, New Orleans kept Tampa Bay’s top receiver in check with four receptions on eight targets for 69 yards, and two interceptions when targeted. On offense, Drew Brees was ruthlessly efficient against Tampa Bay’s shredded secondary, completing 28 of 35 passes for 228 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Michael Thomas, Brees’ top target, had eight receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. Thomas has 94 receptions on the season, passing Marvin Harrison and Julio Jones for the most catches in the first 10 games of a season in NFL history.
It was as impressive a win as the Saints have put together this season. The teams ranked ahead of them have posted up some lofty stats of their own, however, and we’ll actually get to see them kick off in two weeks: the San Francisco 49ers are ranked at No. 2, while their next opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, still sits at the top spot. Depending on how that game turns out, the opportunity is there for the Saints to climb even higher.
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