NEW ORLEANS -- Spoiler alert: If you don’t want to find out how the New Orleans Saints’ 2017 season is going to end, don’t go back and watch 2014, 2015 or 2016.

The Saints have started 0-2 for the fourth straight year, and it sure looks like they’re heading toward a fourth straight 7-9 finish -- heck, that might be a best-case scenario at this point.

New Orleans is 1-11 in September over the past four years, the worst record in the NFL during that stretch, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Perhaps the season still can be salvaged -- the Saints did scratch and claw their way back to .500 each of the past three years after starting 1-3, 0-3 and 0-3. But it will require a major overhaul in a major hurry, with a road game upcoming against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, followed immediately by a weeklong trip to London to face the Miami Dolphins.

“We’ll find out a little bit about what we’re made of,” Saints coach Sean Payton said after Sunday’s 36-20 blowout loss at home to the New England Patriots. “We just finished talking about the sprint here that we’re in to improve each week. Obviously, you start off like this and there’s disappointment. And yet, we’ve got the right type of locker room.

“But we’ve got to respond quickly.”

I’m not ready to go full doomsday on the Saints just yet, because we knew the first three games on their schedule would be brutal (at Minnesota on a Monday night, vs. New England on a short week, at Carolina). Back in April, when the Saints were healthier and I was more optimistic about their prospects, I predicted they would start 0-3 and finish 9-7.

But I didn’t expect the first two games to be this ugly. The defense has been worse than expected, and the offense has been more inconsistent than usual.

It certainly doesn’t help matters that fifth-year safety Kenny Vaccaro is experiencing his own growing pains along with the three rookies New Orleans is starting on defense this season and got benched Sunday. The Saints really needed Vaccaro to become a Pro Bowler this year, not a backup.

And things could get even worse for the Saints if top draft pick Marshon Lattimore isn’t able to play at Carolina -- he left Sunday’s game early to be evaluated for a concussion. Lattimore has been one of the brightest spots on New Orleans’ defense. He had at least two nice pass breakups Sunday while shadowing receiver Brandin Cooks.

But the biggest reason for optimism with the Saints is that this year’s team appears built to improve once September ends.

For one thing, they’re extremely young on both sides of the ball, with five rookies playing major roles (Lattimore, offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, safety Marcus Williams, running back Alvin Kamara and linebacker Alex Anzalone) and several other second- and third-year guys with precious little experience being relied upon.

For another thing, the Saints should get some key players back from injuries and suspensions in October and November (left tackle Terron Armstead, right tackle Zach Strief, receiver Willie Snead and cornerback Delvin Breaux).

If they can manage just one win over the next two weeks -- much less two -- then the Saints at least have a chance to turn that wild inconsistency they’ve shown over the past four years into the upside they’re always teasing us with.

“I’m not concerned,” quarterback Drew Brees said. “Listen, it’s only a matter of time. And I felt like there are some things that came together this week that weren’t there last week -- or that were better. It just hasn’t been good enough yet.”

Brees has thrown for 647 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions despite being noticeably on the wrong page with some of his younger receivers on certain deep balls that have missed the mark.

Of course, Brees’ optimism should be taken with a grain of salt, since he always puts the most positive spin possible every situation.

But even Brees recognizes that the season already is on the ropes.

"Listen, we only have one way to go, and that’s up. Right?" Brees said. "And we go on the road in the division against a very good Carolina team. So there’s not much time to dwell on anything other than making the corrections that need to be made and focusing on a great game plan for this upcoming week.

“It puts you in a little bit of a hole. But again, we can’t cry over spilled milk here. We have to press on, and we have to find a way to get a win. We do."