Category: 2020 playoffs

Saints to kick off with Bears next Sunday, giving Alvin Kamara a shot at playing

Remember to breathe, New Orleans Saints fans.

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Remember to breathe, New Orleans Saints fans. The team announced that their Wild-Card Round game with the Chicago Bears is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10 at 3:40 p.m. CT — meaning that star running back Alvin Kamara has an opportunity to join his teammates in time to play. The game will be broadcast on CBS with a special simulcast geared for kids available on Nickelodeon.

That’s assuming he doesn’t begin to show symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19. Kamara so far has been asymptomatic, but it could take time for him to begin feeling the effects of the coronavirus. That was the case for his teammate, left tackle Terron Armstead, who ended up missing time while recovering from his fight with the infection.

Still, it’s a start, and that’s all the Saints can ask for at this stage. So long as Kamara follows doctors’ orders and remains in isolation, he should come out of the NFL-mandated 10-day quarantine ready to test negative and help his team. We’ll monitor the situation as it develops, but it’s encouraging to know he at least has a shot at getting back on the field in the postseason.

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Saints to face the Bears in upcoming NFL Wild-Card Round

The No. 2-seed New Orleans Saints will match up with the No. 7-seed Chicago Bears in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

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The puzzle is starting to come together. After winning their Week 17 matchup handily, the New Orleans Saints are looking towards the first round of the playoffs, where they’re slotted to play the Chicago Bears in the Wild-Card Round. The Saints have clinched the No. 2 playoff seed, while the Bears are sneaking in as the No. 7 seed in the NFC.

Chicago has been a common opponent for the Saints in recent years. They’ve met in three of the last four years, with New Orleans winning each time. The Bears haven’t beaten the Saints since 2008, and they haven’t won in New Orleans since 2005, before Sean Payton was hired to coach the team.

That’s not to suggest the Saints should feel too confident about this matchup. They’ve proven themselves that anything can happen in the playoffs, even against a mediocre opponent like the 8-8 Bears quarterbacked by a draft bust in Mitchell Trubisky. New Orleans must prepare to give its best shot when both clubs take the field next week.

And when that is remains to be decided. With the rest of the playoff picture still taking shape, the exact kickoff times for each matchup is still up in the air. With star running back Alvin Kamara on the COVID-19 reserve list and ineligible to return until Sunday, Jan. 10, the Saints have to be hoping to avoid a Saturday tilt. It’s a storyline worth watching until the NFL announces its full slate of postseason matchups.

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NFL flexes Week 17 Saints-Panthers game to late afternoon time slot

The NFL announced its updated Week 17 schedule, flexing the New Orleans Saints’ matchup against the Carolina Panthers out of its time slot.

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The NFL playoff picture is taking shape, but the final seeding positions are still uncertain, so you’d expect some teams to commit to scoreboard-watching in Week 17 to see how other matchups might impact them. To discourage that, the NFL has shuffled the schedule for the final week of the regular season.

It means that the New Orleans Saints will kick off with the Carolina Panthers (on Fox) at 3:25 p.m. CT, having previously been scheduled for a meeting at noon. Their game will run at the same time as games between several playoff competitors:

  • Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
  • Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
  • Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams

A Packers loss and Seahawks win (as well as a Saints victory) would trigger a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed, which New Orleans would clinch by virtue of a stronger conference record. But the Cardinals-Rams matchup is worth watching, too; if the Bears lose, they’re out of contention for the No. 7 seed, meaning those two NFC West squads would be competing for the No. 6 and 7 spots.

But no one will go into their games knowing exactly where they’ll be seeded. It’s shaping up for as explosive a Week 17 slate as the NFL could hope for.

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Saints still mathematically alive in the hunt for NFC’s No.1 playoff seed

The New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks are in the thick of the NFC playoff picture and will watch Week 16’s Packers-Titans game closely

Nothing is set in stone yet. The New Orleans Saints have clinched the NFC South, but they’re still competing for positioning in the NFL playoff picture. And so are the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. There’s plenty left to say about how the playoffs may shake out.

So here’s what to watch for, and what Saints fans should root for both on Sunday night and in Week 17:

NFL Playoff Picture: Saints control their own destiny, again, in Week 16

The New Orleans Saints have several playoff scenarios to clinch the NFC South in Week 16, but the easiest path means beating the Vikings.

This is starting to sound like a broken record. The New Orleans Saints need just one more win to clinch the NFC South and secure a top-three playoff seed, keeping them in contention for the all-too-valuable top seed. That’s been the story for two weeks, and the Saints have dropped a loss in each of those two games.

But there’s still a path or two for New Orleans to clinch the division after a loss or tie. The NFL announced Week 16’s playoff clinch scenarios on Tuesday, which I’ve broken down below. All odds via BetMGM.

First, though, let’s consider the current NFL playoff picture. Here’s your projected seedings and matchups via ESPN:

Updated NFC playoff picture, Saints projection after Week 14 games

The New Orleans Saints are still projected to win the NFC South, but they have a lower spot in the NFC playoff picture after Week 14.

The New Orleans Saints overlooked the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14 and fell to 10-3, significantly shifting the postseason landscape. Instead of being the projected No. 1 seed with a first-round bye, they’re now on track to face the wild-card Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Here’s your updated NFC playoff picture:

Saints have 3 paths to clinching a playoff berth in Week 13

The New Orleans Saints could clinch a playoff berth in Week 13 by defeating the Atlanta Falcons and getting help from the Detroit Lions.

The New Orleans Saints have the playoffs in their sights, and the schedule shakes out to where they can clinch a postseason berth in Week 13. But they’ll need some help; beating the Atlanta Falcons won’t be enough. All odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.

NFL Week 12: Saints on top of the NFC playoff picture before MNF

The New Orleans Saints retained their grip on the top seed in the NFC playoff picture, ahead of the Packers, Seahawks, and Buccaneers.

Week 12’s matchup for “Monday Night Football” will help solidify the NFC playoff picture a little more, but for the New Orleans Saints have positioned themselves to where it doesn’t matter who wins between the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.

The same can’t be said for the rest of the contenders in the NFC. An expected Seahawks victory would put Seattle in the second seed, ahead of the Green Bay Packers; an Eagles home upset would send a ripple effect throughout the standings. If Philadelphia surprises with a win, they would replace the New York Giants at the fourth seed as NFC East leaders and Seattle would fall to the fifth seed, with the Los Angeles Rams surpassing them in the NFC West.

Then again, we’re only in Week 12. There are still five weeks of football ahead, and plenty of time for the Saints to either lock up or lose the first seed, and the valuable first-round bye that comes with it. Here are your current NFC playoff standings ahead of Monday night’s kickoff: