METAIRIE, La. — After back-to-back wins in just five days last week, which helped the New Orleans Saints climb into first place in the NFC South, they got a bit of a reward with some time off before plunging into the second half of their schedule.

But the Saints (4-4) had something else to smile about when they went back to work to begin preparing for Sunday’s matchup with the San Francisco 49ers (4-4) in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

With a seven-game regular-season road losing streak behind them after a 28-10 thrashing of the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 30, the Saints have a three-game homestand staring them in the face.

Winning two in a row was big because the well-rested Saints knew they were coming home, where they have won a franchise-record 11 consecutive games. They’ve also won 20 in a row in the building with coach Sean Payton, who was suspended for the entire 2012 season, on the sideline.

Yet Payton has continually preached that the Saints can only look at this game with the 49ers and not to equally big matchups the next two weeks against the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.

“It’s just this game. … You’ve heard me say this before, we’re not looking at this home game or the one after that,” Payton said Wednesday when asked if his team could get on a roll like it did in 2011 when it ran the table in the second half of the season after being 5-3 at the midway point.

“The schedule is what it is,” he added. “I just know this Sunday we’re going to be at home. It’s important. We’re going to have to play a better game than we did (last Thursday) this Sunday.”

At the same time, Payton is feeling better about his team going into the second half of the season.

After starting 1-3 and 2-4, which included three road losses in which they surrendered a lead in the closing minutes, the Saints have posted a 21-point home win over the Green Bay Packers and then hammered the Panthers by 18.

“I think there’s a toughness,” Payton said of his team’s recent play. “There is a chance to kind of sharpen your sword, if you will. It has a chance to develop. I’ve said this to them, having been where we’ve been and knowing how difficult that is, you refuse to go back.

“Hopefully, you are becoming more resilient and a little bit tougher, both mentally and physically, I think for all of us. It is a tough league each week.”