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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Sigler

Updating the Saints playoff odds after sweeping the Falcons

Believe it or not, the New Orleans Saints still have a path to the playoffs. They’ll need a lot of help from other teams, and they need to help themselves by winning more games, but they have a better chance now than they did a week ago.

Various projections updated the Saints’ playoff chances after they swept the  Atlanta Falcons amid a floundering NFC South. On a Sunday in which every team but New Orleans went home with a loss, the Saints kept their playoff window open ever so slightly. Their fortunes hinge on winning the division rather than claiming a wild-card spot.

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Now, they’re far from favored to reach the postseason. We’re just saying there’s a chance. See for yourself where the Saints stack up against the other NFC South teams, and the r:

ESPN

Firstly, the projections at ESPN give the Saints a 2.6% chance of reaching the playoffs, which ranks worst in the division:

  1. 76.3% – Buccaneers
  2. 18.1% – Panthers
  3. 3.1% – Falcons
  4. 2.6% – Saints

New York Times

The NYT Playoff Picture gives the Saints a slightly better shot at making the playoffs, but not by much. And they also rank New Orleans’ fortunes at the bottom of the NFC South:

  1. 72% – Buccaneers
  2. 20% – Panthers
  3. 4% – Falcons
  4. 4% – Saints

FiveThirtyEight

And the 538 NFL Predictions are even bleaker, giving the Saints a 2% shot at elbowing their way into the playoff picture:

  1. 72% – Buccaneers
  2. 23% – Panthers
  3. 3% – Falcons
  4. 2% – Saints

Remaining schedules

Alright, enough of the fortune-telling and smoke and mirrors. Here’s the current standings within the NFC South and the games left to play for each team:

  1. Buccaneers (6-8): at Cardinals, vs. Panthers, at Falcons
  2. Panthers (5-9): vs. Lions, at Buccaneers, at Saints
  3. Saints (5-9): at Browns, at Eagles, vs. Panthers
  4. Falcons (5-9): at Ravens, vs. Cardinals, vs. Buccaneers

Tampa Bay is the only team not scheduled to play a team with a record at .500 or better down the stretch. The Panthers will host the surging 7-7 Lions next week, while the Falcons are traveling to face the 9-5 Ravens. The Saints must fly out to visit the 13-1 Eagles in Philadelphia for the third time in as many seasons.

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