NFL flexes Week 18’s Saints-Falcons game to more prominent time slot

NFL flexes Week 18’s Saints-Falcons game to more prominent time slot

Another week, another New Orleans Saints game flexed into a different time slot. The team announced that their regular season finale with the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18 has been pushed back to 3:25 p.m. CT/4:25 p.m. ET, having originally been scheduled for a noon kickoff. That should put the Saints and Falcons in front of a larger audience (still broadcast on FOX) with fewer games beginning in the late afternoon.

Why the move? Expect some scoreboard watching from the Saints with an ongoing NFC West rivalry game carrying huge playoff implications — the San Francisco 49ers will kick off with the Los Angeles Rams at the same time, needing a win to lock up the final wild-card seed in the NFC. If the Rams win (and they need a win to lock up the division, and the No. 2 seed) and the Saints take care of their business in Atlanta, San Francisco will be eliminated while the Saints advance to their fifth consecutive postseason.

And, oh yeah, it would also mean the Saints end the year with a winning record. Accomplishing that with all of the injuries and COVID-19 issues they’ve been dealt would be beyond impressive, strengthening Sean Payton’s candidacy for Coach of the Year voting. And, to look a little further past the horizon, it might help to lure one of the big-name quarterbacks on the move in the offseason.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The Saints need to put down the Falcons, who have already been eliminated and have nothing to play for beyond spoiling the Saints’ season. Take care of your business and see if you can get some help from out west.