In quite a few games this season, it's looked like the New Orleans Saints have been close to putting at least some of the pieces together.

In Sunday's Week 5 game against the New York Giants, all those pieces finally formed a complete puzzle as the Saints won 26-14.

In all honesty, it was another tough start for New Orleans that could've gotten out of hand early. Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart led two successful scoring drives to put the visiting team up 14-3 early in the second quarter. 

That's when quarterback Spencer Rattler seemed to snap to it. A slightly better drive ended with a Blake Grupe field goal to cut the deficit to 14-6 and at least gave a bit of life back to the Black and Gold. Then the Caesars Superdome nearly exploded minutes later as Rattler connected with Rashid Shaheed for an 87-yard touchdown. A fumble recovery that led to an additional Grupe field goal as the clock hit zero gave the Saints their first lead of the season... and they never looked back from there.

New Orleans forced five turnovers on the day: three fumbles and a pair of interceptions, most of which came in the second half. An 86-yard fumble returned by Jordan Howden just seconds into the fourth quarter iced the game for good, and by the home crowd's reaction, you would've thought the franchise just clinched a playoff spot.

Neither offense nor defense had perfect days for the Black and Gold, but there were notable improvements made on both sides of the ball.

First off, Rattler had his best game as an NFL quarterback by far. The second-year signal-caller went 21-for-31 passing for a season-high 225 yards and one touchdown. Most notably, Rattler was pushing the ball more than in weeks past, and it paid off. His 7.5 average yards per completion were his highest average of the year by far, and he was able to successfully keep drives alive with well-planned passes. Sure, there was a slow start and some mistakes were made, but Rattler took a big step forward.

Chris Olave also rebounded from some bad performances to start the season, with seven receptions for 59 yards; however, it was Shaheed who stole the show with 114 receiving yards and one touchdown.

On the other hand, it was a slower day than usual on the ground for the Saints. Four players combined for just 88 yards on 30 carries, with the longest run of the day being for 11 yards. Up until late in the game, Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller were just getting met constantly and swallowed up quickly by defenders.

Speaking of defenders... where has this New Orleans defense been all year? Between Kool-Aid McKinstry forcing two interceptions and the entire team getting involved to force three fumbles, after an early surge, New York couldn't hold onto the ball for anything. Each time the Black and Gold forced a turnover and made some noise, it genuinely seemed like they'd force another one on the next drive because of the level of momentum they had. 

The defensive line struggled with Giants running back Cam Skattebo early in the contest, but halftime adjustments proved to be huge. The same can be said about the secondary, as Dart was slicing through defenders for much of the first half. The strong response in the second half is a great sign, especially with the struggles that unit has had so far this year. 

On top of this, the team and fanbase rallied around the returns of Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau, with the pair leading the "Who Dat" chant ahead of the game and breathing life back into the Dome. They've both been heavily missed, for both their playmaking abilities and the passion they bring to every game.

Now, let's see if the Saints can turn this single win into a winning streak. The New England Patriots head to the Big Easy in Week 6, straight off an eye-catching win over the Buffalo Bills. It won't be easy, but if New Orleans shows the same fight it did against the Giants, then we could have a good game on our hands.