The Saints serve notice that they aren't done just yet, taking Green Bay 44-23

For awhile there, it looked like anyone who could manage four wins would be able to capture the NFC South. That still may be true, but it now appears that the New Orleans Saints have it in them to win quite a few more.

New Orleans nearly doubled up an unexpectedly punchless Green Bay 44-23, and reaffirmed that as long as they're on home turf, the Saints are very, very tough to beat. After trading a touchdown and three field goals apiece in the first half, the Saints finally cracked through in the third quarter, combining an attack more balanced than they'd shown all year.

Drew Brees looked like the future Hall of Famer he is, going 27 of 32 for 311 yards and two touchdowns, and the rest of the team rallied around him. The Saints D swarmed quarterback Aaron Rodgers for two interceptions. Mark Ingram parachuted in from a Tuscaloosa trophy case to pile up 172 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.

The Packers, meanwhile, are now 5-3, a game behind Detroit in the North, and suffering through an eerie reminder of last season. Back then, a shoulder injury that cost Rodgers seven games nearly submarined the entire season. Then as now, the Packers' entire offense rested on Rodgers' shoulders -- or, in this case, hamstring. Rodgers pulled up lame when running out of bounds early in the third quarter, and New Orleans took advantage of his weakness to score 21 unanswered second-half points and effectively hammerlock the game.

Rodgers seemed to recover some of his mobility later in the game, scampering 14 yards for a touchdown with five minutes remaining in the fourth. So perhaps a bit of rest, courtesy of a bye week, will have him back to his usual mobile self.

New Orleans, meanwhile, sits 3-4, half a game behind the Panthers in the woeful South, and with five of their remaining nine games at home, appears back on track for a playoff berth. They'll play Carolina this coming Thursday night, a rugged turnaround, with first place in the division at stake.

The Saints are undefeated at home and un-victorious on the road. That's not any kind of record to start planning January around, but for a division characterized by historic incompetence, it might just be enough.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.

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