METAIRIE, La. — With a three-game homestand in front of them after ending October with a two-game winning streak, the New Orleans Saints were certainly well-positioned to jump into the driver’s seat in the NFC South race.

Not only that, but after climbing to the .500 mark for the first time this season, the Saints had a golden opportunity to put some separation between them and the rest of the competition in the woebegone division.

But that chance has evaporated — for now.

Their hopes and dreams of making some inroads toward a division title went by the wayside one by one — falling to the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in succession after winning 11 games in a row at home.

Now, the Saints (4-7) are dealing with a short week — with a holiday thrown in for good measure — as they prepare to travel for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in what suddenly is a critical game.

After dropping a 34-27 decision to the Ravens on Monday night, the Saints, who are tied for the division lead with the Atlanta Falcons with five games remaining, were stunned.

Saints coach Sean Payton has made changes and pushed buttons to no avail since his team allowed a fourth-and-10 play that led to the 49ers’ game-tying field goal and eventual game-winning field goal in overtime started the slide back on Nov. 9.

When asked if he planned on making more changes this week, Payton declined to reveal any details.

“We’re not going to sit up here after a game and talk about what changes are being made,” Payton said after falling to the Ravens. “We’re not going to do that. You (media) will be the last to know.”

As a result, the Saints are in dire straits heading down the stretch. They are 2-9 away from home in their last 11 regular-season games and now face a Steelers team that is hard to beat in Heinz Field.

So now that they’ve proven that they aren’t invincible at home, Payton was asked if it could be an advantage to go on the road for a change of scenery.

“I don’t know that going on the road is an advantage and yet I don’t know that the venue really matters,” he said. “I mean it matters because when you play at home you have an advantage, especially on third down.”

All Payton knows is that they have to straighten things out quick.

“We’re not trying to figure it out; we’re trying to correct it,” he said. “Obviously, our margin for error is not good enough to win close games.

“We have to be able to play better and coach better. … That falls on me, our coaching staff and our players, all of us,” he said. “Most importantly we have to make sure we have thick skin and be able to have the mental and physical toughness to bounce back and play next week because we are playing, obviously, an important game.”