Try finding someone who would have believed this heading into the season: Drew Brees hasn't thrown a TD pass in two weeks, and the Saints still have yet to lose.

The Saints look stunningly well rounded at the one-quarter mark of the campaign, thanks to the running of RB Pierre Thomas and an opportunistic defense. As defenses have had success slowing down Brees — who still is tied for the league lead with nine TD passes despite the drought — the rest of the team has risen to the challenge it failed to conquer in 2007 and '08 when its quarterback was quieted.

Gregg Williams' defense outscored New Orleans' offense and frazzled Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez on Sunday in the Saints' 24-10 win. Sanchez was picked off three times, had one interception returned 99 yards for a TD by FS Darren Sharper and also was stripped in his own endzone before Saints DT Remi Ayodele fell on the loose ball for a Saints' TD.

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Members of the Saints' defense have bought into Williams' style and the team looks like a legitimate Super Bowl contender because of it.

The Saints were well prepared for Sanchez and the Jets, as Williams kept throwing different looks the rookie's way, switching from eight-man fronts on some downs to three-man fronts on others. Sharper watched tape closely in the days leading up to Week Four and said he noticed Sanchez was better than most rookies when it came to not locking on to his intended receiver, but he still did so just enough to cue Sharper, who read Sanchez's eyes before picking him off twice Sunday.

Credit also has to go to Saints DEs Will Smith and Charles Grant. Grant has played very well the past two weeks after a slow start and made five tackles, two sacks and also defended a pass against the Jets after making two sacks vs. Buffalo in Week Three. Grant had made just 5½ sacks in his previous 24 games. Smith had the strip sack against Sanchez that led to Ayodele's TD and added another sack later in the game.

New Orleans is going to be a difficult team to beat once it builds a lead. Teams have so much respect for the passing game that they don't consider loading up vs. the run, which leaves room for Thomas to pick up significant yardage and keep the clock running. The defense is so aggressive and the playbook so diverse that it's hard for all but the most savvy of quarterbacks to adjust to the many different problems Williams creates for them by mixing up the team's personnel and alignments.

The Saints probably would rather keep on playing than take a week off since things are going so well, but they'll get a breather thanks to a Week Five bye before hosting the Giants in a matchup of the NFC's two most impressive clubs so far.