NEW ORLEANS — The Ravens own seven wins this season — the same total as every other team in the AFC North this season — but after pummeling the New Orleans Saints 34-27 Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Baltimore is looking for a lot more.

“This was big,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after his team improved to 7-4, a half-game behind division-leading Cincinnati (7-3-1) and tied with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. “You’re going to have to win a lot of games to win the division and make the playoffs.

“It’s just a fact. You’re going to need every win you can get. Next week (against the San Diego Chargers) is going to be even bigger. They’re only going to get bigger as they go.”

The Ravens made every critical offensive play and key defensive stop against the Saints (4-7), who lost their third consecutive home game to fall yet are tied for first with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South.

Baltimore running back Justin Forsett rushed for a career-high 182 yards on 22 carries (an 8.3-yard average), including touchdown runs of 13 and 20 yards. The Ravens’ offensive line overpowered the Saints’ front seven, opening holes for 215 rushing yards.

The biggest play of the game came with the score tied at 17 in the third quarter and the Saints facing a third-and-7 at their own 41-yard line. Quarterback Drew Brees sidestepped pressure from linebacker Terrell Suggs in the pocket but threw a pass in the right flat behind tight end Jimmy Graham.

Safety Will Hill cut underneath the throw to easily pick off the pass, and he raced 44 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, putting the Ravens on top with 4:59 left in the period.

Baltimore never looked back.

“It was a little bit of bad luck,” said Brees, who completed 35 of 45 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns. “I was getting wrapped up as the ball was leaving my hands. This is a game of inches and split seconds. Unfortunately, not a lot of those have gone our way this year.”

Trailing 17-14 at halftime, the Ravens broke open the game with 13 consecutive points in the second half, including the interception return by Hill.

Justin Tucker sandwiched field goals of 31 and 55 yards around Hill’s defensive score, and the Ravens led 27-17 with 10:59 left. The Saints closed the gap to 27-20 on a 34-yard field goal by Shayne Graham, but they failed to get the touchdown they needed.

The Ravens put the game away with 2:53 left on an 80-yard drive that ended with Forsett’s second TD of the game, a 20-yard burst off left tackle in which he was untouched after breaking one tackle at the line of scrimmage.

“The running game was obviously huge for us,” said Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who also was efficient, completing 18 of 24 for 243 yards and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith in the first quarter. “Then, when you get into the game and get a feel for what you’re doing and how you’re doing it — that’s when you make the commitment. The way it was working, we had to keep with (the run).”

The Saints exploded for 10 points in the final four minutes of the first half to take a 17-14 lead at intermission. After Graham kicked a 20-yard field goal to cut Baltimore’s lead to 14-10, Brees got the ball back at his 19 with 1:56 left and no timeouts.

Brees found wide receiver Marques Colston free over the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Ravens’ 26. After spiking the ball, Brees lofted a rainbow for Colston, who was running a seam route past safety Matt Elam, and Colston leaped in front of onrushing safety Terrence Brooks in the end zone for the 26-yard touchdown.

The Ravens used a great goal-line stand to stop the Saints without points on New Orleans’ first possession. Wide receiver Joe Morgan raced 66 yards on a reverse to the Baltimore 1, but the Saints could not punch it in. On fourth down, nose tackle Haloti Ngata smothered running back Mark Ingram for a 1-yard loss, and the Saints came away empty.

“The way the game was won, you have to go back to the very first two series of the game,” Harbaugh said. “Lardarius (Webb) tracks down (Morgan) and makes the tackle, or he could have very easily walked in. Then Ngata makes the stop. Then we drive and put seven on the board. That was a statement by our football team.”

What the Ravens said:

“Our offensive line is doing a great job and creating those seams. Justin (Forsett) is not letting the guy tackle him in the hole. He’s hitting the hole and hitting it quickly and getting to it on time. He’s turning 2-yard runs into 6-yard runs and 6-yard runs into who knows what. He’s been unbelievable, but it starts with the guys up front. His job is to get in there and hit the hole.” — Quarterback Joe Flacco.

What the Saints said:

“This is just something we have to accept, but we remain undeterred in regards to what direction this team and program is going. We just need to win. Winning cures a lot of things. We’re gaining a maturity level as we go along. It’s no fun to lose or to be 4-7, but you can only worry about the things you can control.” — Quarterback Drew Brees.

What we learned about the Ravens:

1. Baltimore possesses power where it counts — in the offensive and defensive lines. The offensive line opened huge holes for running back Justin Forsett, and the Ravens were able to pound the Saints for 215 yards on 32 carries (a 6.7-yard average). Equally as impressive was the defensive front seven, which made a key goal-line stop on the Saints’ first offensive series and sacked quarterback Drew Brees four times for 21 yards in losses. The sacks came in bunches — on consecutive plays in two separate series. “We had four sacks, but we had numerous other hard hits on Drew Brees,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s really shifty in the pocket.”

2. Despite playing with a banged-up secondary, the Ravens made some key defensive stops. That sounds crazy, especially considering the Saints rolled up 525 yards in total offense, including 421 yards passing by Brees. However, cornerback Lardarius Webb chased down Joe Morgan to prevent the wide receiver from scoring on the Saints’ first series, a huge hustle play, and safety Will Hill made a crucial pick-six in the third quarter. “Obviously, Will Hill’s play was the difference in the game,” Harbaugh said. “It was seven points, but it was also the fact that we could make a play on defense, not just a stop, but an interception where we could go grab one and take it away. That’s something that’s been lacking.”

–LB Terrell Suggs recorded one sack, the 100th of his NFL career, and he had the key hurry that led to QB Drew Brees’ costly third-quarter interception. Suggs finished with six tackles. “Terrell Suggs is just a great football player,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I feel like he’s just beginning. It’ll be fun to see where he goes from here. He’s a great leader. He grabbed us up as a team (during the week) and pointed us in the right direction.”

–WR Steve Smith did another number on the Saints’ secondary, just as he did for so many season as a member of the Carolina Panthers. His first-quarter touchdown catch was a thing of beauty, as he went up high over CB Brian Dixon to snag the ball just inside end zone. Smith caught four passes for 89 yards, including a 40-yarder. “That Steve Smith catch was about as good as you’ll ever see,” Harbaugh said. “He was tackled and he still comes down with the catch.”

–RB Justin Forsett gained 182 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries Monday against New Orleans. He had runs of 38, 10, 11, 13, 24, 35 and 20 yards. The seven-year veteran wiggled through holes and broke tackles when the Saints took bad angles. “It’s crazy man, when you think about where I was at this time last year — mostly doing a lot of scout team work,” Forsett said. “I’m just thankful for the journey I’m on. When you get a lot of opportunities like I’ve been getting, it allows you to get into a rhythm.”

What we learned about the Saints:

1. The Saints are down, down, down, but in the woeful NFC South, incredibly, they are not out. At 4-7 and riding a three-game losing streak, New Orleans is tied for the division lead with the Falcons, although Atlanta holds the tiebreaker due to its 37-34 overtime victory over New Orleans in the season opener. “There were three losses at home, but each one was different,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I don’t take a lot of solace right now (in leading the division) after a loss. Obviously, to be playing for something is important, and yet we have to make sure that some of the things that we did better tonight we continue to build on. What we can control is our week’s preparation.”

2. The Saints had won 14 consecutive prime-time home games, including the playoffs, before losing Monday to the Ravens. New Orleans’ average margin of victory in those games was nearly 20 points. Maybe going on the road to Pittsburgh next week will be an advantage. “I don’t know that the venue really matters,” Payton said. “When you play at home, you have an advantage, especially on third down. Make no mistake about it. We know we have to play better.”

–QB Drew Brees posted excellent stats (35 of 45 for 420 yards and three touchdowns), but again he was burned by the big mistake — this time a 44-yard pick-six by S Will Hill in the third quarter. Brees has thrown 11 interceptions this season, and eight resulted in opponents’ scores, including three returned for TDs. “As a professional, as a competitor, you want to go out and play great,” Brees said. “You have to have the mental wherewithal and toughness to move past bad plays and put those behind you. It’s the team that makes the least mistakes that wins, not necessarily the team that makes the most amount of good plays.”

–RB Mark Ingram, after rushing for 459 yards in the previous four games, was held to 27 yards on 11 carries. He accounted for 0 yards on seven carries in the first half against the Ravens’ stout interior defense. “When you play a team like (Baltimore), you have to keep pounding it,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “We knew it was a physical front.”

–WR Joe Morgan, whose development was damaged by off-the-field issues, flashed some of the speed and talent the Saints know he possesses. Morgan caught a 62-yard pass on a deep route and was tackled inside the Baltimore 5. He also raced 67 yards with a reverse on the Saints’ first series, but New Orleans failed to score despite having a first-and-goal from the Baltimore 1-yard line. “He was certainly involved in the plan,” Payton said.