The defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints are a missed field goal away from winning their first four games of the season.
With that said, the residents of the Big Easy are hardly finding it that way this year.
Sean Payton's team is winning nail-biters this season compared to when it used to just chew up its opponents with large passing plays and an opportunistic defense last year.
Aesthetics aside, the Saints (3-1) will vie for their fourth win in five outings when they travel to the desert to face the sluggish Arizona Cardinals (2-2) on Sunday.
Drew Brees and the high-octane offense is averaging a modest - well, relatively speaking - 19.75 points per contest. Brees also brandishes a brace over his sore left knee, a fashion statement which is causing a great deal of concern in the French Quarter.
Running back Pierre Thomas was sidelined for last Sunday's 16-14 victory over the winless Carolina Panthers. This week hasn't looked much better for Thomas, who missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with an ankle injury.
With Reggie Bush also sidelined with a fractured fibula in his right leg, the Saints saw veteran Ladell Betts (47 yards rushing, 23 receiving) and undrafted rookie Christopher Ivory (67 yards rushing) highlight a ground game which amassed its first 100-yard game of the season.
That's quite the accomplishment considering that New Orleans owns the 30th-best (read: third worst) rushing offense in the league.
Perhaps the most potent member of the Saints was a 46-year-old man who wasn't on the opening day roster.
John Carney came back to the fold after Garrett Hartley missed a chip shot in the team's loss to the Atlanta Falcons the previous week. Carney converted all three field goal attempts - including a 25-yarder with 3:55 remaining in the fourth quarter - to seal the victory.
As for the Cardinals, they have surrendered the second-most points (118) in the league this season - save for the winless Buffalo Bills.
With that said, Arizona remains in a tie for the NFC West lead with the surprising St. Louis Rams (2-2) and Seattle Seahawks (2-2).
Last week's lopsided 41-10 loss to the San Diego Chargers was far from a first-place performance, causing Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt to bench starting quarterback Derek Anderson in favor of rookie Max Hall.
Hall, who will start Sunday's contest against the Saints, replaced Anderson shortly before halftime and finished 8 of 14 for 82 yards. Anderson was 7 of 14 for 64 yards and two interceptions.
In the team's first four games, Anderson has thrown for 644 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions.
The murky quarterback situation aside, Whisenhunt is also dealing with an unhappy Beanie Wells, who is openly questioning his role in the offense.
"I'm not really worried about the quarterback situation, I'm worried about my situation," the former first-round pick told the Arizona Republic on Tuesday.
"I didn't get into the game until there were four minutes left in the second quarter and I have no clue as to why. I'd like to think I'm a big part of this thing, but right now, I don't feel it."
Wells carried the ball five times for 19 yards while Tim Hightower had seven carries for 24 yards last week.