The New Orleans Saints have plenty to play for in their regular season finale with the Carolina Panthers. The NFC playoff picture is far from set in stone, and the Saints can still clinch one of the top two seeds. But there’s an argument to be made for resting key players against a team missing its own franchise cornerstones, with quarterback Cam Newton on injured reserve and former head coach Ron Rivera on the free agent market.
Those who would rather the Saints take this one cautiously point to the NFC playoff standings. New Orleans has guaranteed that they will finish with a seed no lower than third, getting the privilege to host a playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. While the Saints would have to go on the road if they advance further in the playoffs, none of the teams ranked higher (the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, and maybe the Seattle Seahawks) are very intimidating.
The Saints have the best record on the road over the last three years among all teams currently in the playoff race. And with injuries to key starters like guards Andrus Peat and Larry Warford, safeties Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams, and cornerback Eli Apple, New Orleans could probably afford to let off the gas.
But you can count Saints coach Sean Payton out of the camp advocating for starters to be rested, and for the team to phone in this performance.
“No, no, no, no, no, no. Absolutely no,” Payton told ESPN’s Mike Triplett. “We’re still playing for the one, two or three seed.”
Payton’s been here before, or at least a similar situation. Back in 2010, when the Saints were defending Super Bowl champions, they needed a number of different games to break just right so that they could clinch a higher playoff seed. That hinged on the Saints winning their Week 17 matchup, but a rash of injuries struck at the worst possible time.
Breakout rookie tight end Jimmy Graham went down. So did the team’s leading rusher, Chris Ivory. And Malcolm Jenkins, a leader of the defense, also exited with an injury. On top of it all, the Saints didn’t get the combination they needed from other games, and were condemned to a wild-card spot. All of those injuries combined for the humiliating “Beast Quake” road loss to Marshawn Lynch and the 7-9 Seahawks.
Fortunately, the Saints don’t need as much help to clinch a higher seed, and the first-round bye week that comes with it. Not to minimize the situation — either the lowly Detroit Lions or the beaten-up Seahawks must upset the Packers or 49ers, respectively, for New Orleans to climb the standings.
But Payton isn’t discouraged. He’s moved on to Carolina, and rounded up his thoughts on the matter with, “I don’t think this is a long shot, what we need this week.”
With the Packers-Lions game set to kick off at the same time as the Saints-Panthers contest, it won’t be surprising if the Saints sideline is watching the scoreboard closely for updates, even if the odds are not in their favor. The real show will be highlighted on Sunday night, when the 49ers visit CenturyLink Stadium for a rematch with those Seahawks — and Lynch, who ended his unofficial retirement for one last hurrah with the team that put him on the map. It’s just a shame he did so against the Saints. Maybe now he can make up for it.
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