The Who Dat chants started with about nine minutes left Sunday, which tells you all you need to know about what the New Orleans Saints did to the New York Jets.

The surging Saints needed a convincing beatdown win like this one in their final home game of the season.

The 29-6 victory was the third in a row for the Saints, with a chance of ending the season on a 5-game winning streak with winnable games against the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons up next.

Those two games are in Nashville and Atlanta, though.

This was the Saints’ last chance to give the home crowd something to feel good about in a season where that hasn’t always been the case. This was one last time to make the type of impression that would make fans want to return to the Dome next season and make the building as loud as it used to be. This was a chance to show Saints’ fans that the future is indeed bright.

First-year Saints head coach Kellen Moore knew how important that was, which is why he made finishing up in the Dome with a bang a point of emphasis all week.

“Let’s finish off the right way,” Moore said. “This has been an awesome place for building something really special. When we play in this Dome, special things can happen. We’ve allowed the last couple wins to help the crowd get into it and we can build from there.”

Let’s be clear.

Beating the lowly Jets (3-12) won’t have the national media raving about the Saints on Monday morning. And it shouldn’t.

But if you’re a Saints fan, you can probably stick your chest out a little further this offseason knowing that Moore seems to have this team heading in the right direction. You’ll be able to talk a little bit more smack this summer than you did this past one. The Saints took care of business against the Jets, which hasn’t always been the case. Moore somehow steadied the ship. A team that was once 1-8 has now won four of its last six games to improve to 5-10.

With two games remaining, the Saints have already exceeded the 4.5 over/under on wins that the oddsmakers in Vegas projected.

And they probably have exceeded the expectations of first-year Jets coach Aaron Glenn.

Glenn, who played for the Jets and Saints and also was a Saints assistant, only did a virtual interview with the Saints in January when the head coaching position was open. Instead, he accepted the Jets’ job.

But Sunday made one thing clear. The Saints are in much better position than the Jets. The Saints have found their quarterback in rookie Tyler Shough, who threw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career. The Jets, meanwhile, will go into the offseason still trying to find theirs. The Saints sacked Jets undrafted rookie Brady Cook eight times and intercepted him once.

The Saints’ defense and the development of Shough look promising. Especially considering Shough was playing behind a makeshift offensive line and with very few of the weapons the Saints started the season with. The Saints led just 9-6 at halftime, but outscored the Jets 20-0 the rest of the way. The day went so well for the Saints that Moore couldn’t even remember how many game balls he passed out after the game.

“I’ll have to tally them up later,” Moore said. “It was a healthy list.”

It ended up being 13. They ranged from old timers like Cam Jordan (2 sacks) and Taysom Hill (1 TD pass, 42 rushing yards, 36 receiving yards) to rookies like Shough (308 passing yards) to guys like kicker Charlie Smyth, who had never played in an NFL game until three weeks ago. Smyth tied a franchise record with five field goals. 

“I see a bright future with all the guys we have,” Jordan said. “I’m mad it took us this long to find some success. Once you find some success, you find out how to win. Winning, for some reason, feels better. The drinks, lemonade or whatever you like to drink, goes down smoother.”

And the Who Dat chants become a little louder. And sometimes when the game gets out of hand, those chants come a little sooner. This time they came just moments after rookie Jonas Sanker picked off a pass with 9:17 left to pretty much seal this win. The Saints were leading 22-6 at the time, plenty of cushion against a team like the Jets.

“It’s momentum,” said Saints safety Justin Reid. “We are building something here. We are not tucking away. We are not coasting. We can attack the offseason feeling confident in who we are and what our identity is so we can come in next year and dominate the division. We are the best team in the NFC South right now. Unfortunately, we can’t make the playoffs.”

But in a season that started with so much frustration, they can still give the fans something to cheer about. Reid was born and raised in Louisiana, so he knows how important that is.

“When you win, the whole city glows,” Reid said. “The whole city is happy. Everyone has a great time. The bars are going to be full tonight.”

A win like Sunday’s should have the Dome full too when the Saints return home next season.