Saints have fallen on hard times

The Saints, who’ve had trouble rebuilding their defense, are trying to avoid finishing 7-9 for the third consecutive season.

To get to 8-8, they would have to post three straight victories, which they haven’t accomplished since Games 6 through 8 last year. Beating the Falcons would mean their first non-losing season since they went 11-5 in 2013.

The Saints were eliminated from the playoffs after the Falcons splattered the Panthers 33-16 on Christmas Eve. However, they defeated Tampa Bay 31-24 later that afternoon to help the Falcons clinch the division title.

Payton believes that performance speaks to the character of his team, which is led by quarterback Drew Brees and defensive end Cameron Jordan.

“We’ve got a good locker room,” Payton said during his Monday conference call with local reporters. “I like, from a work standpoint, how we prepare and how we get ready. I think that’s been outstanding.”

The Saints know the stakes. The Falcons will be trying to lock up the No. 2 seed for the NFC playoffs.

“We’ve got to, after this final regular-season game, look to make the changes we need to make to improve our team, our roster, in all areas,” Payton said. “But I think from a standpoint of bringing in the right type of people, that’s critical in today’s game and I think we’ve been able to do that.”

Even with Brees again leading the NFL in passing yardage (4,858), the Saints have been leaning more on their rushing attack. Running backs Mark Ingram, who’s closing in on 1,000 yards, and Tim Hightower have had strong seasons.

“Mark Ingram, I think he’s averaging five yards a carry if I’m not mistaken,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “They’ve had some games where they’ve run it over 200. That’s what makes things so difficult when the run game, play-action and all of the stuff that goes along with that, I’ve been impressed by them.”

In their first meeting, the Falcons defeated the Saints 45-32 on Sept. 26 on Monday Night Football. Rookie linebacker Deion Jones sealed the victory with a 90-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons victimized the Saints’ linebacker corps in their previous meeting. Running back Devonta Freeman ran for a season-high 152 yards on 14 carries that night as the Falcons amassed 217 yards rushing. He also led the Falcons with five receptions for 55 yards.

Since then, the Saints released middle linebacker James Laurinaitis and weakside linebacker Stephone Anthony (knee) is on injured reserve. Dannell Ellerbe, Craig Robertson and safety Roman Harper started last week against Tampa Bay in a nickel package.

“They are not allowing the explosive plays,” Quinn said. “They are playing good run defense. We recognize that it’s going to be a battle.”

Offensively, Brees, 37, is still playing at a high level. He has completed 442 of 623 passes (70.9 percent) for 35 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He has a 103.1 passer rating.

“You know going against Drew that they are never out of it,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said on his weekly radio show. “Every time that he lines up under center, they are going to score points and make plays. It’s going to be a tough, tough game.”

Ryan, the NFL highest-rated QB (115.5), still has an ample amount of respect for Brees.

“He’s been fun to watch over the years, that’s for sure,” Ryan said. “I have a ton of respect for his consistency, longevity and his ability to play at such a high level for a long time has been really impressive.”

Jordan leads the Saints defense with 7.5 sacks and defensive tackle Nick Fairley is second with 5.5.

“Cam Jordan does a good job for them in the front seven,” Ryan said. “He’s a guy who’s always played really, really tough against us. That will be important to take care of him.”