Fundamentals, Decision Making And Ball Security

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

First and foremost, turnovers and ball security must be addressed by head coach Sean Payton and his assistants. All three areas of the game suffered a turnover in some manner.

The first was Lance Moore's fumble on a punt catch in the second quarter. This was just inexcusable for a solid, dependable guy like Moore who once caught an incredible two-point conversion in the Super Bowl. This was also the second time in two weeks that they special teams muffed a simple punt catch.

The second turnover was Corey White's fumble into the back of the end zone which resulted in a touch back and gave the ball back to the 49ers. White appeared to be juggling the ball as he honed in on the end zone from his interception of Colin Kaepernick as the quarterback closed in on him. That ball should have been secured much, much sooner. That, or he should have just went out of bounds somewhere after the five-yard-line and gave the Saints' offense a short field to do their thing.

Drew Brees also made a poor call when he chose to loft the ball to one of his receivers in the third quarter while he was outside of the pocket. Ahmad Brooks of the 49ers showed his athleticism by jumping up, tipping the ball and coming down with the interception. This was just a poor decision by Brees, but was a costly mistake nonetheless.

Hartley's Return

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Kicker Garrett Hartley finally shook off whatever was bothering him and came through for his leg. Garrett knocked in three field goals on three attempts, including the game winner.

Prior to the San Francisco game, Hartley had missed four out of his previous six attempts and the Saints had brought in several kickers in an attempt to update their emergency kicker depth. It was nice to see the hero of the 2009 NFC Championship Game play a clutch role once again.

Defensive Effort Continues To Improve And Show Its Teeth

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Rob Ryan's defense continues to get better and better.

Ryan's defense held Kaepernick to 17-of-31 passing for 127 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. They also held prolific running back Frank Gore to just 48 yards on 13 attempts and the entire rushing effort to 81 yards, which includes a 25-yard scamper by Kaepernick. Not bad for a defense that had got ran over by New York Jets' running back Chris Ivory just a few weeks ago.

The defensive front also came through big time near the end of the game, getting to and pressuring Kaepernick, causing a near safety and a sack. Junior Galette, Cameron Jordan and Akeim Hicks each had one sack.

Offense Was, Well, Good Enough

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The offense played as well as they had to to come away with a victory. Besides Brees' lazy lofted throw that resulted in an interception, the offense was not that bad and they did what they had to do to win a close game. They were going against what many consider to be one of the most physical, dominant defenses in the entire NFL.

Remaining Schedule Still Tough

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Up next for the Saints is a short week for a Thursday night game in Atlanta against the lowly Falcons. Though the Falcons are obviously hurting and playing at a subpar level, divisional games seem to be close, competitive games most of the time.

After the match up in Atlanta, however, comes a huge test for New Orleans — a Monday night game in Seattle.

This game could very well decide the NFC playoff seeding and who gets to play where. It won't be easy for the Saints, but this is one they should want to win badly, especially considering the heartbreaking 41-36 loss that saw Marshawn Lynch turn on his beast mode and break what seemed to be dozens of tackles by several Saints defenders.

This will be a playoff type game within the confines of the regular season. Don't miss it.