For the New Orleans Saints, the Louisiana representative of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC), life in the National Football League (NFL) has been one long exercise in patience. Since their establishment as an expansion franchise in 1966, the Saints have been on an upward trajectory – but one with a very slight uphill grade. It took them more than ten years to manage a break-even season, and another decade beyond that to finally have their first season with more wins than defeats. They didn’t manage a playoff victory until the 2000 campaign. Saints fans have had to endure far more downs than ups over the last four decades as their team struggled to find its place in an NFL dominated by concepts of parity, but throughout it all, patience has been the byword.

Many will tell you that the key to a football team’s success is its quarterback. After all, someone who can successfully find receivers is bound to put points on the scoreboard for his team. Still, others will tell you that it’s defense that wins championships. This year, though, was the year of the quarterback.