The New Orleans Saints, with their top-ranked scoring offense averaging 45.5 points per game — 10 more than the next-highest team — have been the early surprise of the NFL this season. Quarterback Derek Carr, all but written off as forever mediocre and fading into the downside of his career, has put up 443 passing yards with five touchdowns against just one pick through the first two weeks. Running back Alvin Kamara has 198 rushing yards, 92 receiving yards and five combined touchdowns. New Orleans’ defense ranks seventh in average yards allowed (273) and fourth in average points allowed (14.3). Head coach Dennis Allen, who began the year on the hot seat, has the Saints tied with Tampa Bay — the Eagles’ Week 4 opponent — atop the NFC South. Into the belly of this Bayou beast, and on the heels of a debacle Monday night against Atlanta, enter your Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m., FOX, 94.1-WIP FM). “They have an explosive running back with Kamara,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Thursday. “They’ve got speed at wide receiver. Derek Carr has seen and played a lot of football, and when he’s on, he’s on. “Being in that Charger division when he was early on, I have a lot of respect for Derek Carr, because I think he can play really good football,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, he is playing very good football at this particular point. But they run the ball well, they’re explosive with the pass game, and they’re going to be a big-time challenge in a hostile environment.” The Eagles tried to simulate the Superdome atmosphere during the week, pumping noise into practices. “Our ears are ringing,” Sirianni said Friday. “Sometimes, you try to even put it up a little bit louder. We have it up as loud as the speakers go, but to make it louder, sometimes you actually use — instead of music, you use the crowd noise, which can become annoying, but that’s what we’ve done. “So communicating and being on the same page in the noise is one of our keys to win this game,” he said. “That’s really any time you’re on the road, but especially in New Orleans.” No one paid much attention to the Saints after they beat up on Carolina, possibly the worst team in professional football, 41-10 in Week 1. But when they laid a thumping on Dallas, just after Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had agreed to the richest contract in NFL history, 44-19 a week ago — well, New Orleans couldn’t be ignored. The Eagles, meanwhile, have been porous against the run, failed to generate a pass rush, and despite some encouraging play by Jalen Hurts — both throwing and running the ball — he has continued to turn the ball over. Saquon Barkley, despite the drop against the Falcons, has been as good as advertised. The question going into New Orleans: Is this really an improved Eagles team, or is it the same as last year? *** The Eagles are still without receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring), officially ruled out Friday. … The FOX broadcasters will be Joe Davis, Greg Olsen and Pam Oliver. —— Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.