Great chance for Saints to open up a 2 1/2 game lead over Carolina (1 Viewer)

[Saint Kamara]

Kyle Allen is going to have a precipitous fall from grace vs the 49ers.

What we need to hope for is that Allen looks so bad (3 or 4 interceptions would really help the cause) that they decide to stupidly pull the trigger on reinstating Cam back as starting QB. Win win win.

And then of course the heavily favored Saints taking care of business.

7-1
4-3

Division effectively over.

 

[WxM]

I would rather they beat the 49ers. We have two shots at them and we are already ahead of them. We have only one shot at the 49ers, who we are currently behind.

 

[WhomDat11]

I would rather they beat the 49ers. We have two shots at them and we are already ahead of them. We have only one shot at the 49ers, who we are currently behind.

Get the division first though
Niners still have to play the Seahawks twice, Rams again, Ravens, and Packers (and us!)

 

[SaintJKA]

I would rather they beat the 49ers. We have two shots at them and we are already ahead of them. We have only one shot at the 49ers, who we are currently behind.

This.

All we have to do is split with the Panthers to stay ahead of them. If the 49ers beat the Panthers, then we would HAVE to beat the 49ers to get the tie-breaker.

With the Panthers beating the 49ers (giving them 1 loss), we would have to either beat them (giving them 2 losses, and us 1) or hope they lose two other games (giving them 3 losses, and us 2) to pull ahead.

In the end, it seems to me we HAVE to beat the 49ers if we won't HFA.

 

[Saint Kamara]

Get the division first though
Niners still have to play the Seahawks twice, Rams again, Ravens, and Packers (and us!)

Yeah we have our own shot to beat the 49ers head to head which means they would have to end the season with a better record than us to be seeded higher.

Division comes first.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

Get the division first though
Niners still have to play the Seahawks twice, Rams again, Ravens, and Packers (and us!)

↑↑This. Always this. Win your division first. Make the dance.↑↑

The one thing I am no longer worried about is playing on the road. This team is a bunch of road warriors. Just secure the spot in the dance FIRST, then we can worry about seeding. A 7-1 to 4-3 would be a much better feeling than 7-1 to 5-2 or 6-2 to 5-2.

 

[WxM]

Get the division first though
Niners still have to play the Seahawks twice, Rams again, Ravens, and Packers (and us!)

We are already control the division. If we don't win it, it's our own fault. We don't currently control the number one seed.

 

[black_floyd]

The way the Saints are playing, I feel very confident that 11-5 is probably worst case scenario at this point. We only have four remotely challenging games left: Carolina (2), San Francisco, and Indy. All of those are home games except for the week 17 finale at Carolina. The five softies are: Arizona, Atlanta (2), Tampa Bay, and Tennessee. 11-5 has only missed the playoffs twice ever (1985 Broncos and 2008 Patriots) so 11-5 probably has like a 98% chance of making the playoffs. This means that if we're playing inconsistently enough that we can't even go .500 down the stretch with a soft schedule and only one hard road game that we're sure as hell gonna need as much home cookin as possible.

 

[Poison]

In terms of games with implications for our season, the Panthers @ 49ers followed by the Packers @ the Chiefs are both really important games coming up this Sunday.

I agree with those above who want the 49ers to start dropping games, and would back the Saints to beat the Panthers at least once down the stretch, but San Francisco look pretty legit to me.

Otherwise, the timing of the Mahomes' injury couldn't be worse for us. Hopefully the other players on the Chiefs can step up because right now they are in a three-way fight with the Bills (who host the Eagles), the Ravens (bye) and Indy snapping at their heels and likely to knock off Denver this week. If the road to the Super Bowl is to go through NOLA, we want the Packers to drop a few to make sure of it.

 

[Jameth]

I'm pulling for the Niners. They'll lose 3 or 4 to the Saints, Rams, Hawks, and Packers. The odds of us being in a dogfight for the division @CAR Week 17 will plummet if Carolina loses.

 

[LiterOCola]

We are already control the division. If we don't win it, it's our own fault. We don't currently control the number one seed.

We kinda do though. As long as we are within one game of the 49ers, we do control our own destiny because we play them.

 

[black_floyd]

That's a very good point^^^ It just helps immensely to have the luxury of being able to drop a game as well though. We can drop a game and still win the division but we don't have that luxury with SF. As much as I and many other Saints fans feel they're paper tigers cuz they haven't played anyone other than the Rams, there's still a possibility that SF is for real.

The fact that it looks like the two teams we'll be jockeying with for the #1 seed are SF and GB eerily reminds me of 2011. That sucked arse cuz we were literally eliminated from the #1 seed in week 1 since GB went 15-1 so we literally could've won all of our remaining games and still been no better than #2. That's what makes our current situation so awesome and why I feel it's imperative to get the #1 seed. After what happened this past January, I think the fans literally might break KC's fan noise record and make it basically impossible for anyone to come in the dome and try to compete.

 

[DaveXA]

That's a very good point^^^ It just helps immensely to have the luxury of being able to drop a game as well though. We can drop a game and still win the division but we don't have that luxury with SF. As much as I and many other Saints fans feel they're paper tigers cuz they haven't played anyone other than the Rams, there's still a possibility that SF is for real.

The fact that it looks like the two teams we'll be jockeying with for the #1 seed are SF and GB eerily reminds me of 2011. That sucked arse cuz we were literally eliminated from the #1 seed in week 1 since GB went 15-1 so we literally could've won all of our remaining games and still been no better than #2. That's what makes our current situation so awesome and why I feel it's imperative to get the #1 seed. After what happened this past January, I think the fans literally might break KC's fan noise record and make it basically impossible for anyone to come in the dome and try to compete.

As long as that defense is healthy, the 9ers are for real. And as another poster stated, the Saints technically do control their own destiny. It's very hard to win more than 12-13 games, so I think both the 9ers and Saints will drop a few games before the season is done.

I think what's great is that we had a fast start this season compared to previous seasons where it took 4-5 weeks to get a head of steam. I'm also thinking that maybe the team will finish stronger at the end of this season than they did last year when the offense slowed a lot after Thanksgiving. I think keeping the line healthy will be a big deal.

This has already been a better than expected season as I thought it might be tough to come back after two heartbreaking finishes the last 2 years, but I appreciate that they've stayed focused and haven't given up on trying to get back to the SB.

 

[CentMSSaint]

Unless something crazy happens, I dont't see the Saints dropping more than one or two games, if that. SF plays at NO, and the Panthers are riding McCaffrey. SP is aware of both of these situations. I'm willing to bet that Payton is leaving no stone unturned with every team he faces.

 

[Zack Lee]

I would like to see the Panthers win it. I understand handle your division first but I am just personally more concerned about not going to Green Bay or San Fran this year any way possible.