Can any NFL team run on the Saints this season?

The Saints started their season with an utter defensive failure. New Orleans gave up 48 points and 529 total yards against an underwhelming Buccaneers team to start 2018 0-1. And while Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 417 passing yards was the headliner from that game, the fact he and Peyton Barber led a rushing offense that gained 112 yards was nearly as embarrassing.

It was a loss that signaled a possible return to the franchise’s 7-9 purgatory and the string of league-worst statistics that haunted Rob Ryan’s defenses, but head coach Sean Payton refused to allow it to define his team. Instead, that shootout loss set the tone for one of the league’s most explosive offenses — and set an edge for one of the league’s most surprising rushing defenses.

In some ways, 2018 feels like a typical good year for the Saints. In the 10 games since Tampa Bay’s gashing, New Orleans is 10-0. Drew Brees is playing like an MVP, opposing defensives can’t touch him either in the pocket or through the air, and his offense is putting up more points per game than any other team in the league. The Saints have put up 30+ points in each of their last five games and 45+ in three of those.

But the thing that makes this team different is metastasizing from a potent defensive line outward. In New Orleans’ last 10 games, only one team has run for 100+ yards against them: the Bengals, who needed a 27-yard fourth-quarter scramble from backup quarterback Jeff Driskel to cap a 51-14 loss in Week 10.

And that newfound excellence, nearly as much as a dynamite offense, has pushed New Orleans to the best record in the NFL.

New Orleans has two ways to dominate opponents’ ground games. The first is a growing wall of tacklers who have developed into one of the league’s most cohesive units; the Saints’ 3.6 yards per carry allowed this fall ranks second in the NFL, behind only Chicago.

There are several players responsible for this. Demario Davis has been a constant hole-crashing presence in the backfield, dropping opposing backs for six tackles for loss through 11 games. Third-year defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins has reached his All-Pro potential, crashing through blockers in both the run and pass games (12 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss, and seven sacks). Cameron Jordan remains a path-altering force on the edge who disrupts pitches and off-tackle runs with regularity.

Those stars have plenty of support, too. Linebackers A.J. Klein, Alex Anzalone, and safety Vonn Bell have been a key deterrents in the rushing game, bringing explosive support from the second level. That personnel has been huge in the revival of a rushing defense that allowed 4.4 yards per carry — 28th best in the league — last year.

That effort is bleeding through the team’s advanced statistical profile as well. The Saints rank third in the league in defensive marginal efficiency against the run and fourth in the league when it comes to snuffing out third-and-short opportunities. They’re also fearsome in the red zone, particularly against and-goal playcalling.

The other way the Saints slow opponents’ running game comes from their offense. The easiest way to reduce the pressure on your rushing defense is to build big leads. Trailing teams throw the ball significantly more in order to create bigger gains and stop the clock in their comeback efforts. And clubs that have played the Saints in 2018 have spent much of it trailing — no defense in the league has faced fewer carries than the 20.4 per game New Orleans has. Only about 20 percent of opponents’ plays this season have been runs, by far the lowest split in the NFL.

That’s kept primary tailbacks from getting into any kind of clock-killing, chains-moving rhythm. Only one runner, Atlanta’s Tevin Coleman, has earned more than 13 carries against the Saints after Week 1. That was during a 43-37 overtime win for the Saints, and Coleman managed just 33 yards on 15 carries. MVP candidate Todd Gurley saw only 13 carries in New Orleans’ vital win over the Rams, a significant decrease from the roughly 20 rushes per game he’s averaged the rest of 2018. His 79 total yards that afternoon were his second-lowest total of the season.

Here’s how other No. 1 backs have performed against the New Orleans run defense since that opening week loss to Tampa.

The Falcons played the Saints twice. In two losses, they totaled 74 rushing yards on 38 carries.

Ezekiel Elliott is the engine that powers the Cowboys’ offense. The Dallas back has racked up more rushing yards than anyone in the league while returning to the form that made him a 2016 All-Pro. In his last three games, all Dallas victories, he’s run for 394 yards on 5.8 yards per carry and scored four total touchdowns.

Stopping Elliott has been a major proponent in beating the Cowboys. Elliott has rushed for 100+ yards in six games this fall. Dallas is 5-1 in those games. He’s also been held to 80 yards or fewer five times. Dallas is 1-4 when that happens.

That’s going to put a lot of pressure on a New Orleans defense that’s been masterful at shutting down bellwether tailbacks in 2018. The Saints haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since Samaje Perine racked up 117 more than a year ago. Keeping that stretch alive could be the key to extending a 10-game winning streak out to 11.

More importantly, it could set the foundation that pushes New Orleans back to the Super Bowl. The Saints’ path through the playoffs could carve a jagged path around stud running backs like Gurley, Elliott, Chris Carson, and Christian McCaffrey. While there’s a chance Brees and his fireworks display offense could out-score opponents this January, Payton would probably enjoy the stress-free experience of shutting them down much more.