Part of the reason the New Orleans Saints (10-1) have been locked in during their 10-game winning streak? For the sixth time in their last eight games, they'll be facing an opponent that either leads its division on that day, or is in second place. The two teams that didn't fall into that category, Philadelphia and Atlanta, were the defending Super Bowl champs and a NFC South Division rival, which pretty much assured full attention on those dates, too.

So there'll be no mental dips for New Orleans, despite the fact that the Saints will be playing their third game in 12 days, and fourth in 19. They've played their best football during the three-game sprint, beating opponents by an average score of 43-13, and they've been up to the task in prime time, which will be the setting on Thursday night against the Cowboys (6-5) in AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Here are a few things the Saints will need to do well in order to stretch their winning streak to 11: