MINNEAPOLIS -- The New Orleans Saints see the excruciating end of their season as the beginning of something special.
Flush with young talent, the Saints exceeded just about everybody's expectations in a resurgent, exciting season that came within 10 seconds of a berth in the NFC championship game.
New Orleans believes it has the pieces in place to contend in the NFC again next season and for years to come.
"Reflecting on the season itself and what we were able to accomplish and some of the memories made and relationships that were built, and just the way this thing came together, it really leaves me excited for the future of Saints football," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "Especially when I think of this window over the next few years."
Brees, who turned 39 on Monday, could have been the biggest question mark for the Saints heading into the offseason. No sooner had the Vikings' Stefon Diggs crossed the goal line and chucked his helmet in celebration than national pundits began speculating on the future of Brees, who was in the final year of his contract and remains potent at the game's most important position with no clear successor in sight.
Then Brees said he expects to be back in New Orleans, intent on finishing what his team started this season.
"We have a tight-knit team," Brees said. "A lot of these guys are good friends off the field, so it's not like the season ends and everybody goes their separate ways."
The Saints have spent years trying to rebuild the foundation around Brees and give themselves at least one more Super Bowl run with the best player in franchise history.
For the first time in three years, the Saints believe they have those pieces in place. A running game that has often faltered during Brees' tenure was dominant at times behind the spectacular tandem of veteran Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara, and the starting offensive line, made whole by the addition of rookie Ryan Ramczyk, is all under contract through at least 2019.
New Orleans also finally appears to have the talent on defense to match its perennially explosive offense.
All-pro defensive end Cameron Jordan, in the prime of his career, has been the face of the defense for years.
Now he has help. The Saints have surrounded him with a core of up-and-coming players that includes Pro Bowl rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore, defensive tackles Sheldon Rankins and David Onyemata, second-year stalwarts in cornerback Ken Crawley and safety Vonn Bell, along with Marcus Williams, who turned in a promising rookie season before coming up on the wrong end of Diggs' heart-stopping touchdown.
"You talk about our defense and how young they were, you talk about everything that we've accomplished this season," Jordan said. "I am never going to laugh about it, but I hope to look back on this and say this is our growing moment."
These Saints played some of their best football with their backs against the wall.
New Orleans, forgotten by many after an 0-2 start, came roaring back with eight consecutive wins and held off the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC South, the NFL's toughest division.
The way the season ended will be tough to shake.
Veterans like Brees and Jordan have been through it before, dealing with a 36-32 loss to Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers that derailed a team many consider to be Sean Payton's best in New Orleans.
"It will sting for a bit, especially as this season goes on over the next couple of weeks, feeling like that could be us, it should be us," Brees said. "You guys were there in 2011 in San Francisco, when we felt like we should have had them."
The hardest part might be how long the Saints have to wait to get back on the field.
"Clearly, we have to wait a whole offseason," Jordan said. "It's something that's going to grind at us. We have to go to sleep knowing that we put everything out onto the field and left it on the field."
The Saints know there will be changes.
Turnover is inevitable in the NFL, and not everyone will be back. Strong safety Kenny Vaccaro, defensive end Alex Okafor and versatile guard Senio Kelemete lead the long list of potential free agents.
A new crop of rookies will be drafted, hoping to come somewhere close to duplicating the impact that Lattimore, Kamara, Ramczyk and Williams had this season.
"We had a special team," Lattimore said. "I know everybody's not going to be back next year, but this is a special team. We were playing together through the whole season. After those first two losses, we just came together, started playing as a team."
The ever-changing nature of the NFL often means that teams search for a window of opportunity to make a run at the Super Bowl before free agency, age and attrition break up the core.
New Orleans believes its latest opportunity has just started.
"We have a window here where we can really make a run with it," Brees said. "If you continue to have a growth mindset."