By Christopher Dabe - NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
The New Orleans Saints need one win over the final two weeks to secure home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs.
Doing so would keep the Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome from now until a possible Super Bowl trip to Atlanta, as the Saints' final two regular-season games are home: Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5-1) and Dec. 30 against the Carolina Panthers (6-8).
By beating the Panthers 12-9 in the first meeting between the teams Monday (Dec. 17), the Saints (12-2) have a one-game lead on the Los Angeles Rams (11-3) with a head-to-head tiebreaker that gives the Saints what equates to a two-game cushion.
The only way the Saints would not secure home-field advantage is if they lose the two remaining games and either the Rams or Chicago Bears (10-4) win their final two games. Over the next two weeks the Rams are at the Cardinals (3-11) and home against the 49ers (4-10), while the Bears are on the road for both games: at the 49ers and at the Vikings (7-6-1). ...
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