This, they say, is the one that counts.
The third preseason game is typically the one that teams treat as a dress rehearsal. The starters typically play longer, there’s more attention paid to the opponent and teams have most of everything installed by this point. In most cases, it’s the closest thing to a real game you can get before real games are actually played.
Just don’t expect it to be too real.
The Saints are using the week to get into more of a regular-season schedule and will stay in a hotel the night before the game, but they won’t spend too much time looking at the Texans and figuring out ways to beat them.