The New Orleans Saints offense played within one of the slimmest margins for error you’ll see in the NFL. They played their best when the field was condensed on third downs (converting 44.7% of them, eighth-best) and fourth downs (68.8%, fifth-best), and inside the opposing 20-yard line (scoring on 72.1% of drives, again fifth-best).
Drew Brees’ accuracy and Alvin Kamara’s efficiency (and 21 touchdowns, helping New Orleans to the fifth-best scoring offense) allowed the Saints out-execute opponents on critical downs, but that was tough to translate into the open field. And we saw what happened when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers learned their lesson after two regular season losses and dared the Saints to take chances against tight coverage in the playoffs, resulting in four giveaways that all led to Tampa Bay points.