Why is everyone so scared of the Patriots?

Not scared of them but I respect them and what they've done this decade.

This game to me is really a win / not much to lose situation. Obviously, you want the Saints to win, especially playing a good team on MNF. A loss to an AFC team is the least damaging thing in any tiebreaker scenario that the Saints could end up in, especially given that Minnesota's lone loss so far came against the Steelers.