Bye Eagles Bye: The New Orleans Saints are on to the next one

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AP

FILE – In this Dec. 23, 2018, file photo, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees reacts after a touchdown carry by running back Alvin Kamara, not pictured, in the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in New Orleans. Drew Brees is about to play his first game at 40. It’s also the biggest game he’s played in nine seasons and a Super Bowl is on the line. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)

The Superdome was shaking, the car speakers were blasting “Choppa Style” and Saints quarterback Drew Brees capped off the evening with champagne and birthday cake. It was a Saints win, and the team and its city celebrated appropriately.

There was a no-fly zone enforced by the New Orleans Saints, and the Philadelphia Eagles fell victim. Brees and the offense roasted yet another bird this year and the defense proved to be the team’s pearl within the oyster.

But as much as the players shined under the dome-light, there were also some glaring issues on the gridiron that night.

The Saints narrowly won their first playoff game of the season. As much as the city celebrated, they were quick to forget the opening interception by their famed quarterback or that their No. 3 offense closed out the first quarter scoreless with 14-0 on the scoreboard.

They left the field with a final score of 20-14, compared to the 48-7 slaughter by the Saints on Nov. 18 against the same Eagles team.

Winning “three f***in’ games” may prove to be more a challenge for Head Coach Sean Payton and company, whether he wheels in another pile of cash or not.

But the Saints will match up with a familiar face in the next round of the playoffs. The Los Angles Rams already heard the dome’s Who Dat chants this year and left with a 45-35 defeat. The Saints toppled the big, bad Rams once before. Now they just have to do it again.

Philly was a challenging opponent with quarterback Nick Foles dominating the pass game and racking up a rushing touchdown but the No. 2 team in the NFC is coming to town, and they’ll be bringing the second-best offense in the entire league.

ESPN says the Saints have a 33.1 percent chance of having another Benson holding up the Lombardi Trophy, having a championship parade on a cold February night and having an entire city flock to the nearest Academy Sports and Outdoors for Saints gear.

They’re almost there. ESPN says so, and so do the record books.

2009 will live forever in history as the year the Saints or, as the locals call them, Dem Boys, lost to the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers to finish out the regular season with a 13-3 record and the top seed in the NFC.

Dem Boys racked up three more wins that year and flew from Miami back to New Orleans with an extra passenger on board: the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Maybe its luck, or a coincidence. Or perhaps the French Quarter voodoo is working. Dem 2018 Boys lost three games to the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They finished the regular season with a 13-3 record and the top seed in the league.

The numbers never lie, as they say, but the kickoff is not until Sunday. The game hasn’t been decided yet, but the city is excited to see where this season is headed.

Sunday will be a day of tailgating under the I-10 ramps, second-lining during halftime and making the dome rumble. It’s the last home game of the season, whether the Saints reach Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta or not, and the Saints fans are hoping to see something sensational.

New Orleans will host the Rams on Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.