New Orleans Saints fan rooting guide for every game in Week 11

The New Orleans Saints are playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11, but there’s other games on tap. Here’s the Saints fan rooting guide.

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The NFL’s calendar is turning towards Week 11, with plenty of action ahead outside of the New Orleans Saints’ road game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s who Saints fans should pull for in every game this weekend. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Around the NFC South

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers. Tough as it may be to accept, Saints fans should pull for a Falcons win on Sunday. It’s fine if that’s unacceptable; it’s never fun to root for the enemy. Especially when the Panthers are favored by 5.5 points. Ideally, both rival NFC South teams would lose. But Carolina is a closer threat to New Orleans’ lead on the division title, and a Falcons victory here hurts their draft positioning — possibly keeping them from landing some real help like Ohio State Buckeyes prospect Chase Young. Hold your nose and root for Atlanta.

Painting the NFC Playoff Picture

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers favored by 11.5 points, even if the Cardinals played them very close a few weeks ago. San Francisco finally suffered its first loss in prime time (to the NFC West-rival Seattle Seahawks) and another upset would do a lot to help the Saints’ chances of securing a top-two seed in the NFC playoffs. Give Arizona your support.

Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings. This one should be easy enough given Denver’s issues at quarterback, and the Vikings are favored by 10.5 points. Still, root for the underdog if you’re watching this one. The Vikings are right in the thick of the NFC North title race with the Green Bay Packers, and there’s something to be said for encouraging chaos in that division. Still, the fewer rival teams with momentum behind them is better for the Saints. It’s long odds for the Broncos, but pull for them anyway.

Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams. Why is this game on Sunday Night Football? The Bears aren’t a competitive football team with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback, and Chicago is in too deep now to pull him out of the lineup. So we’re stuck watching him try to avoid Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey at the end of a long day of solid games, which isn’t very appealing considering how much trouble the Rams (who are favored by 6.5) have given New Orleans recently. Keeping the Rams mediocre and the Bears stuck with Trubisky is very much in the Saints’ interest, however, so idly root for Chicago.

Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions. This game won’t feature Matthew Stafford, who is missing his second consecutive start while dealing with a back injury. The Lions are a long-shot to make the playoffs, and their odds of beating Dallas are presumably even more destitute. But it’s always easy to pull against the Cowboys, which is what Saints fans should do here. The current NFC East front-runners have the worst record among their peers in the conference, and it’s in New Orleans’ interest for the Cowboys to remain unstable moving down the stretch.

New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles. The less said about this game between two insufferable teams and their associated fanbases, the better. The Patriots are favored by 3.5; Saints fans should check that box and keep it moving.

Leftovers and Lagniappe

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are one of the Saints’ few remaining AFC opponents, and they’re favored by 3.5 points despite having laid an egg against the Miami Dolphins last week. Root for the Jaguars to keep them off-kilter and unbalanced moving forwards.

Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs. This should be a decent Monday Night Football from Mexico, and the Chiefs are favored by 4.5. Saints fans don’t have a rooting interest so pull for the underdog Chargers to add some chaos to the AFC playoff picture.

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens. This is the game that should be on Sunday Night Football, with two of the NFL’s most exciting young quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. But it isn’t, so you’ll be forgiven for switching over to it when the Saints are on commercial break. The Ravens are favored by 4.5, putting Watson into underdog mode, which may be when he plays his best football.

New York Jets at Washington Redskins. This is going to be an ugly game, with both teams lacking inspiring quarterback play and firepower. The Redskins are slightly favored by 2.5 points, and a win would keep team owner Dan Snyder on the same course in which he’s made countless bad decisions. Keeping a one-contending franchise in the gutter is great for New Orleans, so root for Washington in this instance.

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins. The Bills are favored by 6.5, but the Dolphins have so many former Saints players (linebacker Vince Biegel, cornerback Ken Crawley, punt returner Marcus Sherels) that they’re an easy choice for Saints fans to root for. Pull for the underdog Dolphins on Sunday.

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders. The Saints won’t play either of these teams any time soon (they are scheduled to face the Raiders in Las Vegas next year, however) and it would be great to see an Oakland fanbase that’s lacked good memories lately get another one this week. The Raiders are favored by 10.5, and any Saints fans watching should call for them to they cover.

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