Payton and Brees didn’t turn into “Payton and Brees” until 2009.
That period before the Super Bowl only yielded a 25-23 record then they won the championship and became the HOFers you see today.
But it started with a ‘06 division title run.
That's not entirely true. It was always Payton and Brees. The offense was always good. The defense was what held them back. Now it's the opposite with DA. But, you don't win games without putting points on the board no matter how good the defense is. They need to fix that.