ESPN NFL

METAIRIE, La. -- Every week, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton likes to come up with a point of emphasis that he drills into his team. It’s not hard to guess what his message will be this week as the 4-0 Saints travel to face the 3-1 Chicago Bears: Protect the ball.

The Bears lead the NFL again this year with 14 takeaways after leading the league with a whopping 44 of them last year. They even led the league with 14 takeaways in the preseason. It’s something the Bears have always done well, even while switching coaches and personnel.

“In the last however many years you want to go back, they’ve taken the ball away better than anyone,” Saints coach Sean Payton said Tuesday. “It’s kind of one of those things that become somewhat tradition or become somewhat expected of a group. And that’s a credit to the players, it’s a credit to (new coach Marc Trestman) and his staff, those guys on defense. They feed off of that. And it’s been a formula for them. They’ve been exceptional.

“And then you’ve got guys like (cornerback Charles) Tillman who have an unusual, or a very high amount of forced fumbles. There’s a skill set involved in that, and then there’s also just a simple effort involved in that and kind of a ‘want to.’ It’s something that doesn’t happen by accident. To have the numbers that they have, it’s obviously emphasized and worked on.”

Tillman’s 39 forced fumbles are the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2003. He also has 35 career interceptions and nine career defensive touchdowns.

Cornerback Tim Jennings had nine interceptions last year and one this year. Safety Major Wright had four picks last year and two this year. Dynamic defensive end Julius Peppers just had a sack-fumble this past Sunday against the Detroit Lions and has eight forced fumbles in his four years with the Bears.

As a team, Chicago has scored three defensive touchdowns this year and leads the NFL with 55 points off turnovers. Last year, the Bears scored nine defensive touchdowns, tied for the second most in NFL history.

Even Trestman, who has carried on the tradition that was started under former Bears coach Lovie Smith, has marveled at what he’s seen.

“We’ve done it by punching it out, we’ve done it by scooping and scoring, we’ve done it by literally just grabbing it out of guys’ hands,” Trestman said last week of the Bears’ stolen fumbles (now a league-high eight of them). “The (six) interceptions are a little more the norm. You get a good pass rush, you get a hand in a guy’s face, you disguise a coverage, you’re going to get a turnover that way. Teams do that. But it’s the other things that are around that; the strips, the punching out. The way they’ve done it in terms of technique-wise, it’s terribly unique.”

The Saints’ players had a part-time schedule on Tuesday, following their 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. So they haven’t started in fully yet on studying the Bears. But receiver Marques Colston said Tuesday that he’s well aware of the Bears’ opportunistic ways.

And he’s fully expecting that to be a point of emphasis by Payton this week.

“You hit it on the head,” Colston said when asked if he expects that from Payton. “It’s gonna be protecting the ball. You know, we say it time and time again, it’s the No. 1 stat in football. So going on the road against an opportunistic defense, we’ve definitely gotta protect the ball on offense. ... You can tell just watching the film it’s a point of emphasis for them.”

The Saints have done a good job of protecting the ball this year. They have just five giveaways, tied for fifth best in the NFL.

A weekly examination of the Saints’ ESPN.com Power Ranking:

Preseason: 14 | Last Week: 3 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002

Technically, the Saints (4-0) stayed put at No. 3. But it feels like they moved into that upper tier with the No. 1 Denver Broncos and No. 2 Seattle Seahawks after a dominant 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.

That’s because the Saints’ prolific passing offense truly exploded for the first time this season, with quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 413 yards and four touchdowns (96 or more yards for Darren Sproles, Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston). The Dolphins looked lost trying to cover all of those matchup nightmares. That’s what the Saints’ passing offense looked like in 2011 (a 13-3 season), when Brees shattered Dan Marino’s NFL record with 5,476 passing yards and 46 touchdown passes.

The Saints' run game remained grounded Monday, but they still had offensive balance with short passes to Sproles and Pierre Thomas. And the revamped Saints defense continued to play a huge role with four turnovers and four sacks.

With that combo, the Saints are once again bona fide Super Bowl contenders. But so far, we’ve mostly seen them picking on teams on their home turf. We’ll learn even more about them on the road over the next two weeks at the No. 9 Chicago Bears (3-1) and No. 4 New England Patriots (4-0).

Coach Sean Payton will meet with the media later today as the New Orleans Saints begin a short week to prepare for Sunday's road game against the Chicago Bears. In the meantime, make sure you didn't miss any of ESPN's Monday night coverage from the Saints' thorough 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins on both the Saints team page and Dolphins team page.

Columnist Ashley Fox wrote about the impact Payton's return has had on this resurgent team. And I focused on how defenses have to pick their poison now that Payton is back in charge of dynamic weapons like Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles and Marques Colston.

Here is the Saints' participation report from Monday night's game, according to the NFL's official stat book, with some of my thoughts below:

OFFENSE (67 snaps)

QB Drew Brees 67

T Zach Strief 67

T Charles Brown 67

G Jahri Evans 67

G Ben Grubbs 67

C Brian De La Puente 67

TE Jimmy Graham 52

WR Marques Colston 44

WR Kenny Stills 35

TE Benjamin Watson 34

WR Nick Toon 32

RB Darren Sproles 31

WR Robert Meachem 28

RB Pierre Thomas 26

FB Jed Collins 26

RB Khiry Robinson 15

T Bryce Harris 7

S Malcolm Jenkins (on kneel-downs) 3

TE Josh Hill 2

Thoughts: Amazing that Darren Sproles had such a huge impact on only 31 snaps (seven catches for 114 yards, four runs for 28 yards, and two touchdowns). But it's obviously smart to keep him fresh, especially when the game got out of hand late. Sproles also had three punt returns for 44 yards. ... Kind of surprising to see running backs Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson share the load so evenly, but that's mostly because Robinson was running out the clock late in the game. If the Saints ever figure out how to get their run game going, I'd expect Thomas to play more of a leading role (at least while Mark Ingram is still banged up). ... Good to see guard Jahri Evans in on every snap. He wasn't perfect, but it's a good sign that they trusted his hamstring to hold up even when he wasn't needed late in the game.

DEFENSE (60 snaps)

CB Jabari Greer 58

S Malcolm Jenkins 54

S Kenny Vaccaro 54

DE Cameron Jordan 54

LB Curtis Lofton 53

S Rafael Bush 49

OLB Junior Galette 47

CB Keenan Lewis 38

DE Akiem Hicks 36

NT John Jenkins 36

LB David Hawthorne 34

CB Chris Carr 27

DT Tyrunn Walker 24

DE Glenn Foster 24

CB Corey White 22

S Isa Abdul-Quddus 14

OLB Martez Wilson 12

OLB Parys Haralson 10

LB Will Herring 7

LB Ramon Humber 7

Thoughts: Nobody played every snap on defense, and some guys had a downright light workload. That's a nice way to kick off a short week. Heading into Monday's game, three Saints had played every snap on defense this year (Vaccaro, Malcolm Jenkins and Lofton). Now, nobody has. ... The Saints were especially able to keep their big men on the defensive line fresh (a good rotation among Hicks, John Jenkins, Walker and Foster). They've been getting healthier at that position each week). ... Wilson was hoping to play a bigger role this year, which has led to a little frustration on his part. But for the second week in a row, he was able to make the most of his snaps with a big play. He had his first sack of the season in the second half.

NEW ORLEANS -- An examination of four hot issues from the New Orleans Saints' 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins:

Feeling it: Saints quarterback Drew Brees insisted that the Saints still haven’t played their best game and still have plenty of work to do. At the same time, he was willing to admit that the Saints (4-0) are feeling some similarities to their Super Bowl season of 2009, when they started 13-0. In both cases, the Saints were eager to bounce back after missing the playoffs. And in both cases, they were starting fresh with a fiery new defensive coordinator (this time Rob Ryan).

"I'd say there's some similarities in regards to the type of offseason we’ve had, as competitive as it was," Brees said. "Just that feeling: 'Man, we can’t wait to get on the field and then show ourselves, show people what we're about' and continue to gain confidence and continue to get a little bit better each and every game, too."

ESPN columnist Ashley Fox chronicled how much it has meant to have coach Sean Payton back from his season-long suspension.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham also referenced that passion Brees described, saying that a lot of players came into this season with chips on their shoulders. "Or bricks, you could say," Graham said.

Tough road ahead: Just as quickly, though, Brees pointed out that it doesn’t get any easier for the Saints over the next two weeks. They have a quick turnaround game at the Chicago Bears (3-1) on Sunday, followed by another road game at the New England Patriots (4-0).

"We've got a tough road ahead," Brees said. "We’re at Chicago here on a short week, and they’re coming off a tough loss [to the Detroit Lions]. They're gonna be ready to play us, no doubt. And we've struggled there, to be honest with you [three straight losses in the 2006 playoffs and ’07 and ’08 regular seasons]."

Defense stays strong: The Saints offense took center stage Monday night, but the revamped defense continued to come up big. Cornerback Jabari Greer's interception and linebacker Curtis Lofton's forced fumble in the first half were two of the biggest plays of the game. Rookie defensive tackle John Jenkins made a big-time run stuff on third-and-1 to force Miami to settle for an early field goal. And in the second half, the Saints' defense decimated the Dolphins while they were trying to play from way behind (four sacks and two more interceptions).

The Saints gave up more yards than usual in the first half in the run game and allowed an underneath throw to turn into a 50-yard gain. But once again, they didn't let deep balls get over their heads.

Run game still weak: Once again, the Saints ran nowhere in the first half, when their running backs had a total of 5 yards on seven carries. Neither Pierre Thomas nor Khiry Robinson was immune when they tried to run up the middle. Thomas lost 2 yards on second-and-10 and lost 3 yards on second-and-1. And Robinson lost 3 yards on first-and-10.

The Saints adapted with draw plays and screen passes, etc. -- always their most effective change-of-pace plays. But they need to find a way to make the traditional power runs work.

NEW ORLEANS -- For the first 21 minutes of Monday night’s game, the Miami Dolphins did something that no other defense had been able to do against the New Orleans Saints all season. They contained tight end Jimmy Graham, holding him without a single catch.

The only problem? The Dolphins allowed Saints running back Darren Sproles to rack up more than 100 receiving yards during that span.

Then when Miami finally started focusing on Sproles, Graham wound up with 100 receiving yards of his own as the Saints’ offense exploded in a 38-17 victory inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns, while the Saints moved to 4-0 on the season -- a far cry from their 0-4 start in 2012.

“Well, 0-4 to 4-0, this feels a lot better,” Brees deadpanned afterward. “But still we haven’t played our best football, and it feels good to say that. We left some opportunities out there tonight. We scored 38, but it should’ve been more.”

Believe it or not, Brees is probably right. The Saints’ passing offense is starting to show signs of finding the same rhythm it had in 2011, when Brees shattered Dan Marino’s passing mark with 5,476 yards and 46 touchdown passes.

The Saints still need to find a running game; that has been practically nonexistent this year. But clearly they’ve rediscovered the nearly-indefensible combination of Graham and Sproles (not to mention receiver Marques Colston and several other weapons in their versatile attack).

“We tried a variety of different coverages. We tried zone. We tried man. We tried some pressures,” Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said of the unique matchup problems the Saints present.

Sure, the Saints had those same weapons last year. But Graham and Sproles both battled injuries. And their symphony was missing its conductor.

When asked what’s different now, Sproles didn’t hesitate.

“Coach [Sean] Payton’s back,” he said.

And what specifically has Payton brought?

“He’s a genius,” Sproles said.

Sproles then expanded his answer to say that Payton is great at being able to move his pieces around and figure out where a defense is most vulnerable.

“He knows how to call the plays,” Sproles said. “He knows what he’s seeing.”

Payton has been seeing even more opportunities to exploit defenses over his past two seasons as New Orleans coach.

The Saints' offense has been outstanding ever since Payton and Brees first arrived in 2006. But they became a whole different monster in 2011, when Graham and Sproles emerged as their two most dynamic weapons (Graham as a second-year player at the time, and Sproles as a free-agent acquisition from the San Diego Chargers).

Graham and Sproles create two of the most unique matchup challenges in the NFL. And they’re downright deadly under the direction of Payton’s scheming and Brees’ on-field decision-making.

Graham said it’s also made a big difference that Brees was around during the offseason. He was gone last summer while working out his new contract. Graham pointed out this is actually the first time in his career that he and Brees have been together for an entire offseason.

“And I feel like the first four games, it’s showing,” said Graham, who now has 458 receiving yards and six touchdowns through just four games.

“It feels great,” Graham said after catching four passes for 100 yards and two scores on Monday night. “This offense is so dynamic, and in the first half [the Dolphins] were doing some things differently, especially when I was split out, with safeties and corners. And that leaves Sproles one-on-one. And he’s terrifying from the backfield. He’s just a dynamic player.

“And this team is so dynamic. We have so many weapons. And Drew knows exactly where to go with the ball. There’s no hesitation in his game at all.”

Case in point (A): On Brees’ first touchdown pass to Graham in the second quarter, he fired the ball up high for Graham to go up and get it between three defenders for a 27-yard score. And when asked later if he was “surprised” Graham came down with it, Brees said, “No. We have pretty high expectations for ourselves. ... And there’s certain places where I know I can put the ball where it’s Jimmy or nobody.”

Case in point (B): Sproles was actually Brees’ third option on a 13-yard touchdown pass before halftime. But as Brees described it, “We had Jimmy and Marques running up on that side as well. So I think there was a lot of attention put on those guys, and Sproles just kind of snuck out to the sideline.”

Obviously, it’s not just a two-man show in New Orleans. As ESPN analyst KC Joyner said Monday night, Colston is an awfully dangerous “third” option in a passing attack. Colston also had zero catches in the first half before the Dolphins picked a different poison. And he wound up with seven catches for 96 yards in the second half.

Even more impressively, the Saints did this without injured receiver Lance Moore, who had a 1,000-yard season last year. Rookie receiver Kenny Stills caught four passes for 38 yards. Second-year pro Nick Toon caught his first NFL pass for 18 yards on a still-critical third-and-12 play in the first half. And veteran tight end Benjamin Watson caught his first touchdown pass as a Saint in the third quarter.

“You know, we move ‘em around so much and we do so many different things with ‘em that I think it’s hard for defenses to get a key on exactly where they’re gonna be,” Brees said. “We’ve had a lot of time to practice it, so we’ll continue to find ways to do that and keep defenses off balance.”

The Saints offense just getting warmed up? A scary thought.

.

NEW ORLEANS -- Observed in the locker room after the New Orleans Saints' 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins:

Don’t eat the cheese: One of Sean Payton’s favorite mantras was heard often from players this week: “Don’t eat the cheese.” In other words, don’t fall into the trap of overconfidence. Clearly, it still applies -- at least with Drew Brees, who wasn’t satisfied with his performance. Brees said the Saints' offense still missed too many opportunities and hasn’t played its best game yet.

Jersey swap: A cool moment postgame when Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis and Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace swapped their game jerseys on the field as souvenirs. It was the first time these two lifelong friends from New Orleans played against each other as opponents.

Injury watch: Lewis was in and out of the game with a leg strain but insisted it’s nothing major. Meanwhile, receiver Lance Moore admitted it was tough to miss out on the offensive fireworks with a hand injury. He didn’t specify how long he’ll be out but said it just needs time to heal and hopes it’s sooner rather than later.

Galette unimpressed: The Saints torched Miami’s offensive line with four second-half sacks. Then the onslaught continued postgame, with Saints linebacker Junior Galette's harsh words. “I wish we could play them again so I could tee off on them again,” said the always-animated Galette, who said he was fired up because the Dolphins’ linemen were talking trash even while they were down big. “I didn’t think that team was as good as everybody was saying. ... I think we know who the real 3-0 team was.”

Drew Brees had another dominant Monday Night Football game for the New Orleans Saints.

Let’s run through all the accolades of his ninth straight Monday Night win, a rout of the Miami Dolphins.

Brees had his 21st game with at least four touchdown passes, tying Dan Marino for the third-most all-time. Only Peyton Manning (24) and Brett Favre (23) have more.

Brees had his 10th game with at least 400 passing yards. The only quarterback with more is Marino, who has 13. All 10 of those games came since joining the Saints in 2006. No other quarterback has more than five 400-yard games in that span.

It was also Brees’ ninth straight game with at least 300 passing yards. That ties the NFL record for the longest such streak, a mark he set in 2011 and 2012. No other NFL quarterback has had more than six straight.

Brees has five games on Monday Night Football with at least four touchdown passes, tied with Marino for the most all-time.

The 400-yard, four-touchdown combo on Monday Night Football is a special one. It’s been done by five quarterbacks: Marino in 1983, Randall Cunningham in 1998, Manning in 2000, Tom Brady in 2011 and now Brees.

Lastly, the nine-game winning streak on Monday nights is impressive too. It’s tied with Joe Montana for the third-best ever, trailing only Ken Stabler (11 straight) and Steve Young (10).

How he dominated
Brees won this game with long and mid-range throws. He was 8-for-10 for 201 yards and two touchdowns on passes traveling more than 10 yards downfield.

The supporting cast
Darren Sproles had both his first rushing and receiving touchdowns of the season and cleared 100 yards receiving by the end of the first half. He’s the fourth player to have at least 100 receiving yards, a touchdown catch and touchdown run in a Monday Night Football game. The other three are Tony Galbreath (1979), Jerry Rice (1994) and Marshall Faulk (2000).

Jimmy Graham caught two touchdown passes and now has a touchdown catch in five straight games dating back to last season (only Wes Welker, with six straight, has a longer active streak).

Graham joined Antonio Gates (2010) as the only tight ends with six touchdown catches in his first four games of a season.

NEW ORLEANS -- A few thoughts on the New Orleans Saints' 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins, which moved the Saints to 4-0.

What it means: The Saints were off to a great start even before their potent passing offense really got going. Then they exploded Monday night against the previously-unbeaten Dolphins. The Saints still need to find their run game, but it sure looks like quarterback Drew Brees and dynamic playmakers Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles and Marques Colston are in peak form, which makes the Saints bona fide Super Bowl contenders again. The Dolphins have a solid defense, but they couldn’t figure out how to contain all of those guys.

Brees adds to legacy: Brees completed 30 of 39 passes for 413 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. In the process, he passed Fran Tarkenton for sixth place on the NFL’s all-time passing yardage list (now with 47,353). Brees also tied his own NFL record with nine consecutive 300-yard passing games. And he continued a ridiculous run of “Monday Night Football” dominance. He and the Saints now have a nine-game MNF win streak in which he’s thrown 28 touchdown passes and just five interceptions.

Stock watch: Sproles was a monster Monday, with seven catches for 114 yards, four runs for 28 yards and two touchdowns (though he ended on a low note with a late fourth-quarter fumble). Sproles was contained a bit in 2012 by injuries and constant bracket coverage from opposing defenses. But he offered the Dolphins a painful reminder that they can’t leave him in single coverage. While Miami was focused on containing Graham at tight end, Sproles got all 114 receiving yards and both of his TDs before halftime.

Defensive assist: For the first time this season, the Saints’ revamped defense took a back seat to the offense -- but only barely. Two huge first-half turnovers helped New Orleans break the game open (a forced fumble by linebacker Curtis Lofton and an interception by cornerback Jabari Greer). Both led to touchdowns. A first-quarter third-and-1 run stuff by defensive tackle John Jenkins was also big. And in the second half, the Saints started piling on the sacks.

What’s next: The Saints leave the comfort of home the next two weeks with treacherous road games at the Chicago Bears (3-1) and the New England Patriots (4-0). The Saints struggled in their only other road game this year, at Tampa Bay in Week 2. These next two games will tell a lot about their makeup -- and could help determine if they get to play at home during the playoffs.

Join our ESPN.com NFL experts for the "Monday Night Football" match up of the undefeateds, the Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. See you there.

One of the most underrated reasons for the New Orleans Saints’ defensive success this year is the play of veteran cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Keenan Lewis. They’re not being talked about much because they’re barely showing up on TV during games – which is a good thing.

Neither cornerback has given up a deep passing play this year, an issue which plagued the Saints’ defense last season. And when a catch does get made in their vicinity, they’re immediately wrapping up. According to Pro Football Focus, Greer and Lewis have not missed a tackle this year, and they’ve combined to allow a total of 30 yards after the catch.

“I think that we work really hard to be better, to be an improved unit each week,” Greer said. “And I think as a result it’s been, we’re running to the football as soon as they catch it. We’re trying to minimize catches. We’re trying to do whatever it takes to make sure that we’re minimizing the big play. And I think as a result of the work that we’ve put in, that statistic has drastically improved.”

Both Greer and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan praised the fundamentals being preached by new secondary coach Wesley “Crime Dog” McGriff for the improvement in that area.

“First of all, we’ve got some really talented guys here,” Ryan said. “They’re athletic, they’re tough, they play hard, they tackle well, they do the fundamentals well. That’s a tribute to Wesley McGriff, ‘Crime Dog’ in the secondary. He does a fantastic job of drilling the heck out of these guys so games are easy. You can see it. Coaching still makes a difference on that level. To me, I think our coaches are better than anybody.”

Overall, the Saints’ passing defense ranks second in the NFL at 184.3 yards per game (more than 100 yards better than last year’s 292.6, which ranked 31^st in the NFL). That’s especially impressive, considering the Saints have faced some dynamic receivers so far (Atlanta’s Julio Jones and Roddy White, Tampa Bay’s Vincent Jackson and Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald).

The Saints have only allowed three pass plays longer than 22 yards this year, and they were all underneath throws or throws in the middle of the field that developed into longer gains (including a 50-yard pass to Atlanta’s Harry Douglas in Week 1). Opponents haven’t completed any “shot plays” down the field this year -- except for one almost-TD pass by Tampa Bay’s Jackson against rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro in Week 2, which was nullified by an unrelated penalty.

Greer, however, warned the Saints aren’t getting overconfident about their play so far. They know it’s still very early in the season. And they’ll face another big test tonight on “Monday Night Football” when they go against the Miami Dolphins and two receivers who are big-play threats, Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline.

“Each week presents its own problems,” Greer said. “And one week, you can be the poster child of great plays. And then the next week, if you let some over your head, it doesn’t matter. You’re doing a totally different interview.

“So we’ve been fortunate so far that we’ve been able to minimize some plays. But we know that we are not anywhere close to where we want to be, and we want to be able to have this type of success at the end of the season.”