Saints all of a sudden in driver's seat in NFC South

It may feel unlikely, but the New Orleans Saints are tied for the lead in the NFC South. With the upcoming schedule, the Saints are now in the driver's seat.

Boy, the NFL season can be weird. You don't have to tell that to fans of the New Orleans Saints, considering this has been about as wild of a roller coaster ride so far as you can get. Six Flags worthy. We've now left the valley and are currently sitting at the peak, as the Saints are coming off of a huge (and much-needed) win over the Indianapolis Colts.

While the defense may have taken a bit of a step back, the Derek Carr-led offense has taken a huge leap forward, thanks to heroic efforts from Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed and others, and that alone is reason for optimism. As a result of this weekend of football, the Saints all of a sudden find themselves back to .500, with a record of 4-4. With that, they are now tied with their hated rival Atlanta Falcons for the division lead in the NFC South.

Despite technically being in second place (the Falcons are 2-0 in the division while the Saints are 1-1), the Saints certainly have the inside track when you look at the upcoming slate of games. This upcoming week, the Saints do battle with the Chicago Bears, who aren't exactly the Monsters of the Midway at the moment. Then, they take on the Minnesota Vikings, who just lost Kirk Cousins to an Achilles injury. The Saints have a much-needed bye week, and their opponent coming out of it? The Falcons.

So while mathematically the New Orleans Saints may not "control their own destiny" as it pertains to the NFC South, control for this wildly mediocre division is all but theirs. The only question is just how bad they want it.