We’re on to Week 10, but the New Orleans Saints are only halfway through their schedule. They still have eight games left to play before the postseason starts and the Saints are set up well to be major players in the playoffs.

But we can’t get caught looking too far ahead. While the Saints should be favored in almost every game left on their schedule, it will be tough for them to execute everything as well as they did in dismantling the Buccaneers last week, and a loss or two here and there seems inevitable. Here’s our updated game-by-game score predictions for the Saints down the stretch:

Week 10 vs. 4-5 San Francisco 49ers

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The Saints owe the 49ers a beatdown after all the pain they’ve caused — not just last year’s barn-burner loss, and not just for the 2011 playoffs tragedy, but for years of toiling in the old NFC West. But San Francisco is still a dangerous opponent even with all of their injuries, and they have enough juice on offense to punish the Saints for any mistakes. But New Orleans is rolling, and should win this one.

The Score: Saints 30, 49ers 20

The Record: 7-2

Week 11 vs. 3-6 Atlanta Falcons

Does this feel like a trap game to anyone else? Just last year the Saints came out of their bye week feeling hot against a 3-8 Falcons team, only to get upset in the Superdome in a listless 26-9 upset. It’s too soon to say for sure, but this rematch feels like another upset waiting to happen in the long-running rivalry. Hopefully the Saints are better prepared this time around, but we’ll throw the Falcons a bone (and hurt their draft positioning).

The Score: Falcons 28, Saints 24

The Record: 7-3

Week 12 at 3-5 Denver Broncos

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These teams have only played 11 times, but the Saints have won just twice in their shared history (last winning at Mile High Stadium in 1994, squeaking out a win off of two Morten Andersen fourth-quarter field goals). This year’s Broncos team features a bad, banged-up offense and a mediocre, banged-up defense badly missing Von Miller. The Saints should win handily, helping reestablish a tone for the rest of the season.

The Score: Saints 27, Broncos 17

The Record: 8-3

Week 13 at 3-6 Atlanta Falcons

Expect the rematch to not go quite so smoothly for Atlanta. Whatever tricks and crafty looks they might have shown the Saints in their first meeting won’t work the second time, and the Saints are simply so much more talented and better-coached from top to bottom that they should pull away quickly here on the road. It would be a great game for Cameron Jordan to heat up again after his four sacks against the Falcons on Thanksgiving last season.

The Score: Saints 30, Falcons 21

The Record: 9-3

Week 14 at 3-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles

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This game shouldn’t be competitive. The Eagles stink, having saddled their bad quarterback with a talent-deficit supporting cast and a defense lacking NFL-quality personnel outside the defensive line. If established trends continue, the Saints will have this one sealed up by halftime. Whether or not they pull that off will be telling; in past years, the Saints have too often played down to lesser competition, and avoiding that will be critical in setting them up for playoffs success.

The Score: Saints 23, Eagles 12

The Record: 10-3

Week 15 vs. 8-1 Kansas City Chiefs

Here we go: this matchup should be circled on every calendar. The reigning Super Bowl champs against a team that was a couple of plays away from reaching the title game each of the last three years. This will be the best barometer of success we’ll get for New Orleans all season. The Chiefs are as loaded as anyone on each side of the ball, but the Saints have done a great job preparing for these heavyweight fights in recent years, and they’re very talented, too. They have what it takes to win this game.

The Score: Saints 35, Chiefs 31

The Record: 11-3

Week 16 vs. 3-5 Minnesota Vikings

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Mike Zimmer’s teams always play the Saints tight, and it makes sense: he knows Sean Payton and his play-calling tendencies well, going back to their Dallas Cowboys days. Up-and-down as their year has been so far, they should be at least making life hard on playoff contenders come late December. The Saints owe them a big defeat, and it might happen if Minnesota’s fortunes continue to spiral. But Dalvin Cook has had good games against them before and could be a candidate to snap their rushing yardage streak in a big spot on Christmas Day.

The Score: Vikings 24, Saints 23

The Record: 11-4

Week 17 at 3-6 Carolina Panthers

Teddy Bridgewater has to be looking forward to this rematch after the poor job the Saints defense did of guarding him in their last meeting. And he might have superstar running back Christian McCaffrey lined up next to him, too. This should be a difficult matchup for the Saints but you have to think they’ll be ready for it. With the NFC’s to playoff seed on the line, they can’t afford to lose this game.

The Score: Saints 30, Panthers 28

The Record: 12-4