On Sunday, December 18, fans of the New Orleans Saints were happy to know their beloved team still had a mathematical shot at the playoffs, however slim it may be. They were also happy to see that a .500 season was still in play. Aside from a Mark Ingram outburst on the sidelines following a touchdown rush by teammate Tim Hightower, fans were generally happy to walk out of Arizona with a win.
Roller Coaster Week for New Orleans Saints Fans
However unimportant it may be, Saints fans then went from happiness to frustration as the Pro-Bowl rosters were revealed this week. While it hasn’t been a great season for New Orleans, there have been some standout performers thus far. Names like Cameron Jordan, Thomas Morstead and rookie Michael Thomas have been a few that have been heavily considered “snubs” by the Who Dat Nation. None, however, came up more than quarterback Drew Brees.
Brees currently leads the league in both passing touchdowns and passing yards, and doing so to the tune of a 71% completion percentage. Players and fans alike from other teams have even taken to social media and the like to voice their surprise that Brees was not named to the roster. Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan and Dak Prescott were the three NFC quarterbacks named to the Pro-Bowl.
Playoffs?
However egregious the snub may be for Brees, there is still much more to play for this season. As mentioned, the New Orleans Saints still have a mathematical shot to make the playoffs. Before worrying about week 17, let’s take a look at what the Saints need this week to stay alive.
- Saints defeat Bucs
- Vikings defeat Packers
- Bears defeat Redskins
If the Saints can get those results this week, things get more interesting. Both the Redskins and Packers are favored to win those games, so odds are the playoff hopes for the New Orleans Saints this week.
This week’s game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have a different look than their week which the Bucs prevailed in, 16-11.
First of all, the game will be played in the Mercedes Benz Superdome, which should feature a desperate and motivated crowd. Second, the Saints and Bucs are expecting a much more productive Drew Brees this time around. Brees had only 257 yards passing and threw no touchdowns and three interceptions in their last contest. Also, last time around, the Saints didn’t have rookie phenom wide receiver Michael Thomas, leading tackler Craig Robertson or their best offensive line player in Max Unger, all sidelined with injuries.
While coach Sean Payton loves keeping injury news relatively close to the vest, it appears that most of their key starters should play. The biggest exception appears to be Delvin Breaux, who has been riddled with injury issues all year. John Kuhn, Craig Robertson, Dannell Ellerbe and Max Unger were all limited in practice this week. Breaux has not participated in practice.
During this upcoming holiday weekend in the Big Easy, there will be desperation, there will be scoreboard watching and remarkably, there will be hope.
