METAIRIE, La. -- When you lose a game the way the New Orleans Saints did last week, coughing up a 13-point lead in the final four minutes at Detroit, quarterback Drew Brees said "it was painful for all of us."
"It bugs you for like 24 hours. I mean, it really bugs you," said Brees, who bluntly admitted after the game that he let his team down with a late interception.
Ultimately, though, Brees insisted that the way the Saints played for the first 56 minutes of that 24-23 loss at Detroit still breeds confidence that things are heading in the right direction.
And now that the page has officially turned toward a Sunday night showdown against the Green Bay Packers in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Brees said the overriding emotion is excitement for that next opportunity to build on that progress.
"As you got into Tuesday and into today, you said, ‘Man, guys, we're getting close,'" Brees said. "I don't think we've scratched the surface with what we can do this year yet offensively. I think we've showed signs, and yet I think just on a consistent basis we haven't quite found it yet. But we're on our way, and that's the exciting thing. You keep chipping away at it, knowing that your best is still yet to come.
"And we're gonna need it this week against Green Bay."
Players like Brees and offensive tackle Zach Strief admitted that they have to be prepared to engage in a shootout with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, who might have the hottest offense in football right now.
The Packers (5-2) have averaged 36.25 points per game over their current four-game win streak. Rodgers has thrown for 18 touchdown passes with just one interception this year -- with that only interception coming in Week 1.
"Anytime you go up against a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers on the other side of the ball, you know how sharp he's gonna be and you know you have to be at your best," Brees said. "You don't have to be perfect. But, man, just everything is magnified in a game like this. ...
"It just makes you feel like you have to be even that [much] more precise and execute that much better, take advantage of every opportunity that you get."
The Saints have to be especially precise against a Green Bay defense that has forced 14 turnovers this year. The Packers lead the NFL with a turnover ratio of plus-10, having turned it over only four times.
"More than anything, I think we need to protect the ball against this team," Strief said. "So we don't just have to put up points, we need to do it efficiently. Because they've been really good at taking it away, and that offense has really fed on that."
Turnovers have been a problem for the Saints this year. Brees has thrown seven interceptions, and the Saints have lost five fumbles. And some of Brees' recent interceptions have been very poor decisions while trying to force a throw under pressure -- including the most costly one of the year to date at Detroit.
Brees' TD-to-interception ratio is 11-to-7 this year, which is far below his normal standard. But he said those numbers in and of themselves don't worry him or concern him or "keep me up at night" because he's more concerned with the improvement going forward.
Coach Sean Payton said earlier this week that Brees is "the least of our worries." And Strief offered a similar vote of confidence Wednesday.
"I think that Drew is doing what Drew's always done. And he's not getting a lot of help," Strief said. "I think you look at the two-minute drill at the end of the game [at Detroit], we ran six plays, he was pressured on all six of them.
"So obviously Drew is always gonna probably get more credit and he's gonna get more criticism than he's due. We understand that. And if there's one guy in this locker room we're gonna support 100 percent, it's gonna be Drew."