The New Orleans Saints are the first team in the NFC to get to 10 wins. With their 10th win, the Saints have clinched a playoff spot. They are the first team to clinch a postseason berth in the entire NFL. The number one seed is more important than ever this year and within the Saints grasp. With four games left in the NFL season, the New Orleans Saints playoff seeding outlook is looking bright. Below is a breakdown.
New Orleans Saints Playoff Seeding Outlook
NFC South Championship
New Orleans currently has three more wins than the closest NFC South team. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be coming off a bye with a steep hill to climb. Tampa Bay currently sits at seven wins. If the Buccaneers win out, they will make it to 11 wins. New Orleans is already at 10. The New Orleans Saints have beaten the Buccaneers twice and own the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Saints only need to win one more game to clinch the NFC South due to the tiebreakers. The 2020 NFC South title is the Saints to lose.
Saints Remaining Schedule
Week 13’s win against the Atlanta Falcons put the Saints at double-digit wins. This is the fourth season in a row that the Saints have won at least 10 games. To have a shot at securing the top overall seed in the NFC, New Orleans will most likely need to win at least three of their final four games. The Saints play at the Philadelphia Eagles, versus the Kansas City Chiefs, versus the Minnesota Vikings, and at the Carolina Panthers. The Eagles are on a downward trend but could still be a tough game. Kansas City will be a prime week 15 matchup and a potential Super Bowl preview. New Orleans will then be looking for revenge against the Minnesota Vikings.
Last Word
The number one seed in the playoffs is more important this year than in any previous season. Only the top seed in each conference will qualify for a bye in the first weekend of the postseason. The Saints will have to stay ahead of some other teams in the NFC, including the nine-win Green Bay Packers, in order to secure the number one overall seed in the playoffs. The bad news for the Saints is the Packers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker due to Green Bay’s Week 3 win over New Orleans. This means New Orleans has to finish with a better record than Green Bay in order to enter the playoffs as the number one seed in the NFC.
And the Packers four remaining games are very winnable. Green Bay has to go to the Detroit Lions, versus the Carolina Panthers, versus the Tennessee Titans, and at the Chicago Bears. Looking at the trends of most of these teams, it seems like the Packers will finish with at least 11 or 12 wins. If New Orleans doesn’t take care of business down the stretch they may need some help from Green Bay. The goods news for the Saints is the Packers have only beaten one team with a winning record this season. The New Orleans Saints playoff seeding outlook is bright and could mean the top seed in the NFC, especially if they continue their winning ways.
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