METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints' most dramatic victory of the season came at a price.
New Orleans lost defensive end Alex Okafor to a season-ending torn Achilles in Sunday's 34-31 victory over the Washington Redskins, a source confirmed to ESPN.
"It's real difficult. He's a great teammate here, a part of our team," coach Sean Payton said of Okafor's injury. "It's always tough. You don't like to see that, you hate to see it."
The news was first reported Monday by the NFL Network.
Okafor, 26, has been an outstanding free-agent addition for the first-place Saints (8-2), whose defensive resurgence has been one of the biggest stories this season.
Okafor has started every game and played nearly 80 percent of New Orleans' defensive snaps, recording 4 1/2 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, 2 forced fumbles, 43 tackles and 4 pass defenses.
The 6-foot-4, 261-pounder has been excellent as both a pass-rusher and run-stopper -- and he played both inside and outside in different formations -- which will make him difficult to replace. Backup defensive tackle David Onyemata and backup edge rushers Hau'oli Kikaha, Trey Hendrickson and Al-Quadin Muhammad should all play greater roles going forward.
The Saints acquired Okafor at a great discount this offseason on a one-year "prove it" deal worth between $2-3 million after his first four years with the Arizona Cardinals were derailed by a series of nagging biceps and toe injuries.
The Saints' defense is suddenly dealing with a rash of injuries -- which almost cost them before they rallied from a 31-16 deficit in the final three minutes Sunday against Washington.
But there is optimism that rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore (ankle), safety Kenny Vaccaro (groin) and linebacker A.J. Klein (ankle) should all return sooner than later.
Lattimore and Vaccaro both tweeted about their health Sunday evening, and Klein was back in practice on a limited basis Friday.
The Saints' next game is a matchup of surprise division leaders on Sunday at the Los Angeles Rams (7-3).