What to watch when the Seahawks travel to New Orleans on Sunday to face the Saints.
2016 record: 2-4, third in NFC South
Coach: Sean Payton (89-61 in 10 years with Saints and overall).
Series record: The two teams have split 12 regular-season games, the most recent a 34-7 Seattle win at CenturyLink Field on a Monday night in 2013. The Saints won the last game in New Orleans, 34-19 in 2010. Seattle has also won two memorable playoff games against the Saints in the Pete Carroll era — the “Beast Quake” game following the 2010 season and a divisional playoff game en route to the Super Bowl title after the 2013 season.
By the numbers
10 Consecutive games in which the Saints have scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game. The last team to do that was the 2014 Green Bay Packers.
14 Consecutive quarters in which the Saints have scored, a franchise record.
100 Number of 300-yard passing games for Brees after he threw for 367 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, an NFL record.
Early line: Seahawks by 3.
Key players
Most Read Sports Stories
QB Drew Brees: Now 37, Brees shows no signs of slippage in his 16th NFL season (recall that Russell Wilson has often talked of being inspired by the success of Brees, who is just 6 feet). Brees leads the NFL in passing yards per game at 350 and in touchdowns with 17, throwing three or more touchdowns in four of six games this season.
C Max Unger: The former Seahawk, dealt to the Saints in March 2015 as part of the Jimmy Graham trade, has been a stalwart at center for New Orleans, starting all 22 games the team has played the last two seasons. Pro Football Focus judged him as one of the team’s highest-graded players in Sunday’s loss at Kansas City.
RB Mark Ingram: The former Heisman winner continues what has been a steady, if unspectacular, career with the Saints. He has 3,529 yards in six seasons but has never had more than the 964 of 2014. In 82 rushing attempts this season he doesn’t have a run longer than 17 yards. But he is the only real running threat the Saints have so stopping him will be a key for the Seahawks on Sunday. Ingram is coming off a tough game Sunday in which a key fumble helped stall the Saints’ comeback attempt in a 27-21 loss at Kansas City.
DE Darryl Tapp: A second-round pick of the Seahawks in 2006, Tapp can still get it done when called upon in his 11th NFL season. He made his first start of the year Sunday against the Chiefs and played 35 snaps with four tackles — one more than he had had in the previous five games combined. Tapp was part of one of the first big trades Seattle made after Pete Carroll became coach, dealt to the Eagles in 2010 in a trade in which the Seahawks got Chris Clemons.
The Saints’ keys to success
New Orleans appears stuck in an unhappy rut after a nice run from 2009-13 as one of the best teams in the NFL — New Orleans won 11 or more games four times in that span, including the Super Bowl following the 2009 season. But the Saints have gone 7-9 each of the last two years and are now 2-4 after a frustrating loss Sunday at Kansas City in which a minus-two turnover margin and 10 penalties largely made the difference. Despite that record, the Saints remain an offensive juggernaut, ranking second in the NFL in yards per game at 421.7 and third in points at 29.3. Brees and his quick-passing game remains the key to it all. The Saints lead the NFL in passing yards per game at 339 but are just eighth in yards per attempt at 7.7. Proof of how quickly Brees gets rid of the ball? The Saints have allowed just nine sacks — tied for second-fewest in the NFL — in 273 passing attempts, fifth-most. The Saints are not a great running team, averaging 82.3 yards per game and 3.7 per carry, the latter number tied for 26th in the NFL. And the defense remains abysmal — the Saints are 29th in yards allowed at 403.8 and last in points allowed at 32.5. New Orleans has given up 34 or more points four times this season, including in each game that it won, and has allowed 11 rushing touchdowns, most in the NFL.