The New Orleans Saints are coming off a bye week, eager to get top wideout Michael Thomas back into the lineup.

Despite not having the star-studded pass catcher since Week One, the Saints have been able to achieve a solid 3-2 record.

In Week Five, the Saints played a mediocre 1-3 Los Angeles Chargers squad. New Orleans was able to squeeze out a win by the skin of their teeth. In overtime the Saints won 30-27 with a clutch tackle by cornerback Marshon Lattimore on fourth down.

This game was Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s debut on Monday Night Football. It was a career day for him. He tossed four touchdowns for 264 yards.

The Saints defense was gashed multiple times in the contest, allowing a total of 350 yards. The defense made Herbert look like a seasoned veteran. The Chargers rookie quarterback tore into the Saints secondary, and it seemed like there was no answer for the onslaught.

New Orleans took their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter and turned up the heat from there.

Drew Brees connected with Jared Cook on a beautiful 41-yard touchdown pass that brought the game even at 20. Both teams traded touchdowns to tie at 27 and go into overtime. The game was capped off with a Will Lutz field goal and a Lattimore defensive stop to give the Saints the primetime victory.

Something good that came out of Michael Thomas missing game time is that Brees established a connection with wideout Emmanuel Sanders. In this contest Sanders caught the ball 12 times for 122 yards.

This win for New Orleans proved that the squad doesn’t need to look good to come out on top. It also proved that the Saints are not even scraping their full potential and are still winning games.

Once Thomas is back in the lineup, the Saints will be moving like a well oiled machine. 

They’ll be very hard to stop.