If you are a Saints fan, you’ll have a few games you’ll be paying attention to as they look to improve their chances of a playoff berth. The top-3 teams in the NFC South division are all tied at 6-7 after Week 14. Unfortunately, the Saints are third in the division behind the Bucs and Falcons. Tampa Bay owns the tiebreaker but there’s plenty of time for that to change in the final four weeks of the season. Let’s take a look at some of the other games Saints fans should be focused on.
Result: The Saints beat the Giants 24-6 in Week 15 to improve to 7-7 on the season.
Bucs vs. Packers
Result: The Bucs defeated the Packers 34-20 in Week 15 to improve to 7-7 on the season and remain in first place in the NFC South.
The Saints need some help from the Packers, a team they lost to earlier in the season. Green Bay is coming off a tough loss to the Giants on MNF in Week 14. The Packers are also tied at 6-7 and ahead of New Orleans in the standings for the final seed in the NFC playoffs. So a Packers loss and Bucs win isn’t the end of the world, so to speak. But Saints fans shouldn’t be rooting to sneak into the postseason as a Wild Card. New Orleans has a better shot at winning the division and getting a home game in the first round. The Packers are slight home favorites at -3.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Falcons vs. Panthers
Result: The Falcons lost to the Panthers 9-7 on a last-second field goal to drop to 6-8 on the season. The Saints are in second place in the NFC South.
The Saints should also be rooting against the Falcons in a division matchup vs. Carolina. New Orleans took care of business last week vs. the Panthers to get to 6-7. The chances of Carolina pulling off the upset are slim but not unrealistic given how inconsistent Atlanta has been this season. The Falcons are only 3-point favorites on the road on DraftKings Sportsbook, which tells you what Vegas thinks of ATL.
Rams vs. Commanders
Result: The Rams beat the Commanders 28-20 to go 7-7. It isn’t a huge blow to the Saints, but it could end up being problematic if they have to get in without winning the division.
The Rams are another 6-7 team ahead of the Saints in the standings. The Seahawks are also in that group and are right in front of ATL and NOLA in the NFC playoff picture. But if we’re picking between the Rams and Seahawks to lose, Los Angeles is further ahead in the tiebreaker. So New Orleans getting ahead of Los Angeles would appear to be more favorable. Really, the Saints need both the Rams and Seahawks to lose in Week 15 given how far down in the tiebreaker they are. The Saints also face the Rams in Week 16, so getting a game ahead, plus beating L.A. could take a team out of the picture. The Rams are 6.5-point favorites at home in Week 15 vs. Washington.
