Texans vs. Saints: Three players that are vital to beating the Saints

Aug 30, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson (82) is tackled by Houston Texans defensive back Rahim Moore (26) during the first quarter of a preseason game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

A look at three players that the Houston Texans will need to see step up in order to get a big win against the New Orleans Saints

Can the Houston Texans make it four straight games by defeating the New Orleans Saints on Sunday? Well the good news is the game is at home, the bad news is the Saints are coming off a bye week and an embarrassing performance the last time they were on the field.

New Orleans was beat in every way possible on November 15th in Washington. The Redskins prevailed 47-14, which would usually mean that is the kind of team you want to face, right?

Not necessarily, as the Houston Texans still have one of the best head coaches in the game in Sean Payton and one of the premier quarterbacks in Drew Brees. With the bye week the team was able to regroup and let their 36-year old gun slinger get rested up.

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To top things off, the Saints also fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, and that could be a scary thing. Earlier this year, the Detroit Lions were sitting at 1-7 and they fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Jim Bob Cooter took over the duties and they have rattled off three straight wins to get to 4-7 and their offense has vastly improve in those games.

Could the same thing happen for New Orleans with Dennis Allen taking of the defensive play calling duties from Ryan? It certainly is possible. Which means the offense better be ready for anything. At the same time, the Texans can’t sleep on the Saints offense either as Payton is sure to have a great game plan and Brees is excellent at implementing those plans.

To see what the team needs to do to throw New Orleans off their game and get a big win, let’s look at three players who will be vital to the Texans’ success.

Next: Whitney Mercilus