The New Orleans Saints have a slight chance at the playoffs still despite their disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week. The first thing the Saints must do is worry about themselves and win the rest of their games — as head coach Dennis Allen told the team on Tuesday, “Control what we can control.”
That is basically a prerequisite, though it isn’t enough to guarantee admission. Even if New Orleans wins the next two games, they’d still need help that feels unlikely. The Saints would need the Carolina Panthers to upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season finale in order to win the division. Carolina upset the Atlanta Falcons just two weeks ago, but it feels unlikely they will do it again.
The Saints would then lose any three-way tie for the NFC South title, so they’ll need the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks to both lose out. Los Angeles will likely defeat the New York Giants this week and put an instant end to the Saints’ wild card hopes. Too many losses to other teams competing for that wild card seed earlier this season have proven costly for Allen’s squad.
