how they play,” he said. “That

METAIRIE http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-drew-sample-jersey , La. (AP) — Saints linebacker A.J. Klein gushed over the poise and postseason accomplishments of Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles.Philadelphia had better hope Klein is right, because the Superdome was home to Eagles starter Carson Wentz’s worst game this season before he went out with a back injury.Bringing heavy pressure amid the deafening din of the Superdome, the Saints stifled Wentz in a 48-7 rout back in mid-November, holding him to season worsts of 57.6 percent passing for just 156 yards.Now comes a rematch in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, and the Saints must prepare to play one of the NFL’s best known backups. Foles carried Philadelphia to its only Super Bowl triumph after Wentz was injured last season, and helped the recently resurgent Eagles survive this postseason’s opening weekend with a razor-thin victory in Chicago.“He’s far from just a plug-in player,” Klein said. “Don’t forget he won a Super Bowl for them last year and he was the MVP of that game. So we’re not taking him lightly. He’s not just a person that is just a backup, reserve type of guy. He goes out and when he plays, he wins.”In some ways, the Eagles are a familiar foe, and not just because the two teams met on the same field just more than seven weeks ago. Two of the Eagles more prominent veterans — safety Malcolm Jenkins and running back Darren Sproles — both were part of multiple Saints playoff teams.But Saints coach Sean Payton cautioned against any presumption that the vast gulf separating the Saints and Eagles back on Nov. 18 still exists.“They’re a different team than we faced, obviously, earlier in the year. A different quarterback’s playing right now. There is a confidence you see,” Payton said. “Our league is game to game.”Particularly in the do-or-die postseason, when the pressure is turned up. Klein stressed that the Eagles’ 4-0 record in their past four playoff games cannot be overlooked.“They’ve been in this situation before and they know how to win, so obviously we’re not expecting them to be the same team because they’re not http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/trayvon-mullen-jersey ,” Klein said. “They’re playing really good football right now and we’ll just be prepared to obviously get their best shot and obviously we’re going to give them ours.”Two of the biggest differences the Saints will have to contend with in the rematch are Foles and Sproles, neither of whom played in the previous meeting.Saints players and coaches left little doubt about their respect and admiration for Foles. His composure is a big reason why.“There’s a confidence level he has in operating in rhythm, spreading the ball around,” Payton said. “He does a great job of beating pressure with the throw.”In the Eagles’ 16-15 victory on Sunday in Chicago, Payton noted, “you saw him a handful of times with a free rusher coming in his face make some throws outside the numbers that were real impressive. … There’s a calmness obviously when you watch him play that we all see.”Added Klein, “You could see that he’s poised and he has great control of the offense and great control of that team. … He handles pressure well.”New Orleans also is wary of Sproles’ ability to produce as a runner, a receiver out of the backfield and a punt returner. The Saints know from experience. Sproles’ 2,696 all-purpose yards with New Orleans in 2011 remains a single-season NFL record.Now Sproles is 35 and plans to retire after this season, but Payton hardly sounded inclined to underestimate him.“He’s a very, very smart player. It’s one of his great traits along with his ability,” Payton said.“He’s got very good elusiveness and quickness. He’s done a good job with their draws and one-back run schemes. And obviously he’s a dangerous punt returner, but someone who’s a special player.”Meanwhile, the Saints haven’t exactly looked like the juggernaut they resembled in midseason, when the Eagles were among a string of teams that lost to New Orleans by multiple touchdowns.During the last five weeks of the season, the Saints went 3-2 http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/isaiah-johnson-jersey , and the average margin of victory in their past three wins was 6.7 points.Klein said the Saints hope the opportunity to self-scout — and rest — during their first-round playoff bye will help New Orleans look its best in the postseason.The Saints used last week to “look at certain situations throughout the season where we’ve been not so good and figure out why and get those things shored up,” Klein said.“And obviously the time off and be able to rest and get some guys healed up who’ve been banged up the past few games has been very important.” HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans have turned things around after opening the season 0-3, winning three straight games to move out of the AFC South basement.There’s still plenty of work to do though as their offense has struggled to move the ball and protect quarterback Deshaun Watson.Houston beat the Buffalo Bills 20-13 on Sunday, but needed an interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to do it as they managed just one touchdown on offense for the second straight week.The Texans had a chance to put the game away on offense before the big defensive play but couldn’t get it done. They trailed by three with about two minutes remaining on Sunday when they reached the 1-yard line on a 41-yard penalty for pass interference in the end zone. But they lost 7 yards on three plays, capped by an incomplete pass intended for Ryan Griffin that Matt Milano knocked down and had to settle for a tying field goal.It was a particularly tough day for Watson, who entered the game dealing with a chest injury and was hit 19 times and committed a season-high three turnovers in the win.He knows that he must get better with a meeting with the Jaguars coming up on Sunday, but also pointed out that there are going to be some growing pains since he’s still very early in his career.“There’s always room to improve,” he said. “And this is only the 12th game of my career so I’m always experiencing and learning, and I’m going to continue learning for however long I play this game. Every game is a new experience, and for me to go out there (Sunday), I learned something new. I’m going to learn from it and move on.”The Texans made some moves to improve their offensive line in the offseason, but the group has continued to struggle. Watson has been sacked 25 times, which is the second-most in the NFL, and he’s taken 66 other hits.Despite this the second-year player wouldn’t criticize his line and said the problem is because of many different factors.“As a whole we’ve just got to do better,” he said. “Me getting the ball out, those guys doing their job http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/hunter-renfrow-jersey , making sure the play-calling is right, just all on the same page. You can’t point fingers and pin it all on one group of guys. It’s a team sport. We’re all in it together, and we’ve got to come back, watch the film, correct it and move on.”Coach Bill O’Brien didn’t provide any specifics on what Houston can do to improve its offense, but insisted that it’s his responsibility to fix it.“We’ve got to get these guys to be more consistent in how they play,” he said. “That’s coaching. That’s really what we have to get done.”The Titans and Jaguars have lost two games in a row after starting out their seasons strong to leave them and the Texans tied with 3-3 records.After how terribly Houston’s season started the fact that the Texans could take the division lead with a win over Jacksonville is rather encouraging.“I feel good for these guys,” O’Brien said. “We know we have to improve in areas, obviously, but that’s what the league’s all about. I think winning the last three games the way we’ve won them shows a lot about that locker room and what they’re all about. If we can improve and get better in a lot of different areas, maybe we can do something.”“To come back from where we were is a testament to those guys, but there’s a long way to go,” O’Brien continued.