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Saints can clinch playoff bye vs. Panthers with a little help

Per the NFL's algorithms, the Saints can do just that this week by defeating (or tying) the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football – and getting some help from the Green Bay Packers.

The New Orleans Saints won the NFC South divisional title last week, but they’re far from finished. The next goal in mind is securing a playoff bye, letting lesser teams duke it out in the wild card round while the Saints move a step closer to the Super Bowl.

Per the NFL’s algorithms, the Saints can do just that this week by defeating (or tying) the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football – and getting some help from the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers visit the 9-4 Chicago Bears this week, and if they can find a win or tie in Chicago, the Saints get the bye week.

It’s simple math. If the Saints improve to 12-2 or 11-2-1, and the Bears fall to 9-5 or 9-4-1, there won’t be enough games left on the schedule for Chicago to close the distance and steal a top-two seed from the Saints. But if the Saints lose outright, there’s still the potential for a late-season repositioning.

So, one more time. The Saints get that playoff bye in either of these two scenarios:

  • 1) Saints win and Bears lose or tie
  • 2) Saints tie and Bears lose

We’ll know going into the Panthers game on Monday night whether the Saints have a shot at locking in their bye week, thanks to the Bears-Packers kickoff at Soldier Field being scheduled for noon on Sunday. Have your fingers crossed in hope that the 5.5-point underdog Packers find a way to win.

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