Team effort isn't hard to come by for the New Orleans Saints.

However, consistency can.

At 3-6 on the year, the Saints have suffered a consistency issue nearly every week. And to beat the Steelers, who come into Sunday's matchup at 2-6 coming off a bye week, New Orleans needs to play the most consistent football it ever has. The good news, everybody in the locker room knows that. And a simple adjustment in the effort category can fix that for New Orleans.

"It's all about your process," Saints' linebacker Demario Davis said. "You're just always refining the process. It's coming in, putting the work in, learning your opponents, putting together a good game plan, and then finding a way to go execute the game plan.

"When we've played good football, we were able to go out and execute that gameplan. When we haven't, we didn't. We've just got to find a way to put it all together. The good thing is, we're one week removed from putting it all together. This past one, we didn't do that so well. So it's about just getting back to it."

What the head coach sees

Head coach Dennis Allen knows beating the Steelers won't be an easy feat. His team has often looked unprepared, and the offense has shot itself in the foot — often. That's why he needs his team firing at all levels on Sunday.

"It'll be a tough challenge against these guys," Allen said. "Mike Tomlin is a hell of a coach, they've been a really good team for a long time, it'll be a tough place to go play. After them having a week off, I know Coach Tomlin's got a pretty good record after a bye week.

"(They're) tough, physical, play really hard, play the game the right way. Defensively, I think they play the game really, really fast. They've got some pretty unique pressure packages that I think are complicated. They do a really good job of creating some pressure looks and I think that helps them in terms of the back end and what they're able to do coverage-wise. They're taking the ball away a lot, so that's something that we've got to be concerned about."

It has been an injury-riddled season for the Saints. But if they want to stay relevant in the NFC South, winning on Sunday is a need, not a suggestion.

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"Saints will be tested in a major area on Sunday." 

Feature image via Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports