NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cracked ribs or not, Pierre Thomas was ready for a little extra time off.

The highest-scoring Saints offense in franchise history has been a little out of synch lately, and New Orleans’ leading rusher wondered whether mental fatigue wasn’t as much a reason for that as the physical toll of a full season.

‘‘These last couple of weeks have been a struggle for us,’’ Thomas said. ‘‘Guys are going to take a break, just get away … get their minds back and I think we’re going to be back on track.’’

Having earned the top overall seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye, the Saints have most of this week off. They left after team meetings on Monday and were not due back until Saturday, a week before their first playoff game against either Arizona, Green Bay or Philadelphia, who all play this weekend.

‘‘This week for everybody is about getting their bodies healthy, getting their batteries recharged,’’ said quarterback Drew Brees, who did not play in the Saints’ regular season finale.

Even Brees has been a little off lately. After throwing 32 touchdown passes in the Saints’ first 13 games — all wins — Brees had only one TD toss each in losses to Dallas and Tampa Bay. The Saints scored 17 points in each of those games, marking the first two times all season New Orleans hadn’t scored more than 20 points.

Then last Sunday at Carolina, with backup Mark Brunell playing while Brees rested, the Saints scored a season-low 10 points while concluding the regular season on a three-game losing streak.

Even with their late-season scoring slump, the Saints set a single-season franchise record with 510 points, which also led the NFL this season. New Orleans was the only NFL team averaging more than 30 points per game. Second to the Saints’ average of 31.9 points was Minnesota at 29.4.

Yet, earlier this season, the Saints were on pace to do much better.

After Brees threw for five touchdowns in a 38-17 victory over New England on Nov. 30, New Orleans was on pace to score 590 points, which would have broken the Patriots’ NFL record 589 points in 2007.

Instead, the Saints haven’t looked quite the same since, scoring fewer and fewer points each week and averaging 17.5 points during their last four games.

Brees said one reason the Saints offense has struggled has been its inability to sustain long drives when teams have dialed back pressure and played conservatively in an effort to avoid giving up long passes.

For much of the season, the Saints had been a lethal, quick-strike offense. In losses to Dallas and Tampa Bay, the Saints had a combined total of three passes of more than 20 yards. Settling for more short gains, the Saints needed to convert more third downs, and failed to do so. They converted one of seven third downs against the Cowboys and six of 11 against the Bucs.

‘‘We were really bad on third down in the Dallas game and that’s probably the biggest thing I can point to because when you’re bad on third down and not sustaining drives — unless you’re making a lot of big plays, which we weren’t doing either — you’re not going to score much,’’ Brees said. ‘‘We haven’t made some of the big plays that we were used to making here over the last three weeks. Other than that, I think it’s just kind of a play here, a play there … it’s just a matter of getting back to some of the details and execution.’’

Compounding matters, New Orleans’ running game has been stalling at inopportune times. The Saints had only 65 yards rushing against Dallas and 28 yards rushing in a scoreless second half against Tampa Bay.

Thomas rushed for 60 yards in the first half of the loss to the Bucs before cracking his ribs and sitting out the rest of the regular season. Yet, the Saints still had Mike Bell and Reggie Bush in the lineup but could not move the ball on the ground.

Injuries may have slowed the Saints’ passing game some as well. Tight end Jeremy Shockey has missed all three Saints losses with a toe injury. Lance Moore, who was the Saints’ leading receiver in 2008, missed eight of the Saints’ last nine games, playing only a few plays against Dallas, when he caught a touchdown pass.

Saints coach Sean Payton said this week he was confident both would return for the playoffs, along with Thomas, who said he will play hurt if need be in the postseason.

Meanwhile right tackle Jon Stinchcomb said the offensive line, which has made it through the regular season without any major injuries, nonetheless would benefit from some rest as well before going up against a team that had to play in the first round.

‘‘There are four teams that are going to be fighting tooth and nail to get to that game two weeks from now, so it’s a major advantage for us to be able to heal up and just get our focus back,’’ he said.