EOSB
We get the question pretty much every week here at the EOSB, so why not hit it before it’s asked.
Playoffs. What are the scenarios for the Saints and can they still win the division.
The short answer is, yes. The long answer is, it’ll take loads of help from several teams around the league.
What it comes down to, though, is that the Saints must go 4-0 here during the final month of the season and hope Atlanta goes 2-2.
Tiebreakers go like this: head-to-head, division records, winning percentage against common opponents, winning percentage in conference games.
Right now, Atlanta wins nearly every tie-breaker with the Saints. So, even if New Orleans goes 4-0 and Atlanta 3-1 (the lone loss coming to the Saints), the Falcons would still be the NFC South’s winner.
You can thank New Orleans’ ridiculous loss to Arizona and even include the shocking loss to Cleveland for that. New Orleans owns the Pittsburgh tie-breaker, but that’s really of no consequence because of the aforementioned defeats for the Saints.
If the Saints go 3-1, losing to Baltimore, St. Louis or Tampa, there’s really no shot at winning the division because Atlanta closes at Seattle, at Carolina, home against New Orleans and home against Carolina. The Falcons aren’t going to lose to Carolina.
In other words, the Saints really needed Tampa to win against Atlanta on Sunday.
Meanwhile, because division winners automatically get a home game, there’s a scenario where a 13-3 New Orleans team could be the No. 5 seed and be required to travel in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Yep. Wrap your head around that for a second.
