The New Orleans Saints (5-10) play the Tennessee Titans (3-12) Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Here are four things it’ll take for Saints to win their fourth straight game. 

Shoughin’ and thriving

Two of the league’s lowest scoring offenses are catching their stride. The Saints are averaging just 17 points per game (29th in the league). The Titans are even worse, averaging 16.7 points (30th in the league). Only the Browns and Raiders are worst. However, both team’s offenses have played better in recent weeks. The Saints scored 29 points last week against the Jets, the most they’ve scored since last November in a win against the Browns. The Saints are averaging 24.2 points in their current 3-game winning streak. The Titans are averaging 27 points over the last three weeks. Which offense can keep it going?

Tony, Tony, Tony

The Saints’ most important task this week is slowing down Titans’ running back Tony Pollard. The Saints enter the week allowing 126.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks 22nd in the league. Pollard has eclipsed 100 yards in each of the past three games, including a 161-yard performance three weeks ago against the Cleveland Browns. Pollard is just 51 yards away from his fourth straight 1,000-yard season. The Titans also have former Tulane standout Tyjae Spears in the backfield, giving the Titans a solid 1-2 punch. Spears is averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Slowing the duo down is a must.

Pressuring Ward

Titans’ rookie quarterback Cam Ward has been sacked 51 times this season. Only Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders has been sacked more than that (52 times). The Saints recorded eight sacks last week in the victory over the Jets. Saints’ defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will want to make things as difficult as possible for Ward. Ward has thrown six touchdowns and just one interception over the last three weeks and is starting to show why he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick. His first two games with a 100-plus passer rating have come over the past two games, so the Saints have to cool him off.

Keeping the momentum

The Saints are looking to finish the season strong. This is a chance to push their winning streak to four games in a row. The last time they did that was in 2020 when Drew Brees was the quarterback. The Saints reeled off nine consecutive wins that season. A 4-game winning streak would be impressive for a team that started the season 1-8. Despite the Titans 3-12 record, they are also trying to finish the season strong after winning two of their last three games. So the Saints can’t get caught looking ahead to next week’ season finale against the rival Atlanta Falcons.