Tag: Standings

New Orleans Saints’ known opponents for 2024 season (so far)

Here are the New Orleans Saints’ known opponents for the 2024 season (so far). One advantage of a poor finish is a better schedule the next year:

One silver lining for a poor finish is knowing you’ll land a better schedule next year — a slate of opponents for a third-place team is, presumably, easier to knock down than a series of first-place squads.

That didn’t matter for the New Orleans Saints in 2023; head coach Dennis Allen had the easiest schedule in the league and still opened December in third place, the same spot he finished with in the NFC South a year ago. But hope springs eternal. Whether or not Allen is coaching the Saints in 2024 is unknown.

What we do know is the matchups and locations for all but three of New Orleans’ games next year, with two home games against the same-ranked teams in the AFC North and NFC West as well as a road trip for the same-ranked NFC North team waiting to be decided.

Another thing known in advance: the Saints will have nine home games in 2024, the first time they’ll enjoy that benefit of the 17-game schedule after relocating their season opener in 2021 to Jacksonville in the wake of Hurricane Ida and playing a “home” game in London in 2022. With extensive renovations to the Caesars Superdome progressing well, fans will finally get the full experience next season. Hopefully the team can give them something to cheer about.

But if current standing hold, here are the teams the Saints will see in 2024:

New Orleans Saints fall farther behind Falcons after Week 13

The Saints aren’t even tied for the NFC South lead. They’re in third place again after investing $150M in a quarterback and doubling down on Dennis Allen:

This isn’t what anyone in the building expected coming out of Week 13. The New Orleans Saints aren’t even tied for the NFC South lead after losing to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. They’re back in third place again after investing $150 million in a quarterback and doubling down on Dennis Allen’s vision for the team.

With the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning their games and the Saints coming up short in their third consecutive loss, New Orleans finds itself even further back in the division standings. Sure, the NFC South crown isn’t yet out of reach — but it’s growing more distant by the week.

Here’s the state of each NFC South team as they exit Week 13 and begin to prepare for what’s next:

Wisconsin to face three top-20 teams in the next two weeks

Wisconsin to face three top-20 teams in the next two weeks

Wisconsin did not do itself any favors when making its schedule for the 2023-24 basketball season. Not only is the Big Ten gauntlet enough to push an average team out of NCAA Tournament contention, but the Badgers are also saddled with several top-10 out-of-conference matchups.

There was already No. 9 Tennessee, which was a 80-70 loss. Now in the next few weeks, the team will host No. 3 Marquette and visit No. 2 Arizona. Any win during this stretch will feel like a positive step entering conference play.

While the AP Poll only has Marquette and Arizona ranked, KenPom’s rankings see the slate being even tougher. Here are the next three games, as ranked by KenPom:

  • vs. No. 6 Marquette
  • at No. 20 Michigan State
  • at No. 4 Arizona

Meanwhile, the Badgers sit at No. 23 in the rankings, good for No. 3 in the Big Ten behind the Spartans and No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers.

A few wins in this brutal three-game stretch and that ranking should rise into the nation’s top 20.

Saints lose their lead in the NFC South standings to the Falcons

The New Orleans Saints lost to the Atlanta Falcons and lost their lead on the NFC South in the process:

The New Orleans Saints lost to the Atlanta Falcons and in turn lost their lead on the NFC South. The Falcons remain undefeated in division play.

That becomes a big deal when evaluating tiebreakers. The Falcons have the head to head tiebreaker over New Orleans, which puts Atlanta at first place. The Saints have no chance to sweep the season series, and likely won’t have a better divisional record. It’s on the Saints to have a better record than Atlanta. A tie doesn’t favor the Saints.

The Falcons were the only team in the NFC South to win a game in Week 12. Their victory was the most impactful at the top of the division. New Orleans’ loss gives Atlanta the head to head tie breaker, at the moment. Tampa Bay and Carolina lost in out of conference games.

Wisconsin finishes regular season as highest-ranked Big Ten West team in SP+

Wisconsin finishes regular season as highest-ranked Big Ten West team in SP+

Another week, another instance of ESPN’s SP+ metric favoring the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Badgers closed their regular season yesterday with a 28-14 win over rival Minnesota. The win moved the Badgers to 7-5 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play, two games behind Big Ten West-winning Iowa.

If you’ve watched Iowa play, you’d agree it isn’t the most impressive football team in the world. But it wins games, somehow sitting at 10-2 entering the postseason.

Iowa obviously won the game when the two teams met in mid-October. Regardless, ESPN SP+ still has Wisconsin as the best team in the division.

  1. Wisconsin (No. 27)
  2. Iowa (No. 31)
  3. Nebraska (No. 65)
  4. Minnesota (No. 70)
  5. Northwestern (No. 71)
  6. Illinois (No. 75)
  7. Purdue (No. 90)

It is obviously Iowa that will be playing next weekend for the Big Ten Championship.

Saints still on top of the NFC South after bye week

The Saints and Falcons sat at home while the Buccaneers and Panthers lost conference games. Here’s a look at the NFC South standings after Week 11:

The New Orleans Saints walk out of their bye week retaining sole possession of first place in the NFC South. New Orleans shared their bye week with divisional foe and Week 12 opponent, the Atlanta Falcons. This was the last two remaining bye weeks in the division. From this point, the entire NFC South will play each week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers lost their games as the Saints and Falcons sat at home. Tampa Bay fell to the San Francisco 49ers and the Panthers lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Neither loss is particularly surprising, and here is an outlook on the NFC South after Week 11:

Chiefs hold sole possession of first place in AFC after Week 10

The #Chiefs hold sole possession of first place in the AFC after Week 10

The bye week didn’t hold back the Kansas City Chiefs from making progress in the AFC standings. The Week’s worth of games helped determine that Kansas City would enter Week 11 as the top seed in the conference.

The Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, knocking the Ravens to three losses so far on the season. The Jacksonville Jaguars falling at home to the San Francisco 49ers also assured that the Chiefs and Ravens are the only AFC teams with seven wins entering Week 11. The transition to the second half of the season makes every game important for possible playoff positioning, so any break the Chiefs can get will be fruitful, especially during a bye week.

The Chiefs return to the field on November 20th for Monday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Super Bowl LVII rematch gains even more intrigue as both teams will be atop their respective conferences entering the Week as the Eagles hold the best record in the league with one loss.

Saints barely hold onto their grip on the NFC South title after Week 10 loss

The Saints are barely holding onto their grip on the NFC South title after Week 10’s loss. That’s the benefit of a weak division:

Let’s start with the good news. The New Orleans Saints are still on top of the NFC South, and they’re going into their bye week with a great opportunity to rest up some injured players (including several key starters). Their weak division keeps them in the playoff picture.

But barely, and here’s the bad news: the Saints are not in a strong position. They’ll come out of the bye week and face the Atlanta Falcons who are also on bye next Sunday. They’re still a flawed football team that is underperforming its expectations, and it’s worth asking if the coaching staff has what it takes to help the players meet their potential.

Losing to another playoff hopeful like the Minnesota Vikings is a gut punch. Even if the Saints reach the postseason, they haven’t shown they have what it takes to compete with their peers.

That’s a problem for another day. For now, we’ll thank the Arizona Cardinals for breaking Falcons fans’ hearts on a last-second field goal, and take a quick look at the NFC South standings after Week 10:

Saints vs. Vikings: 4 biggest storylines going into Week 10 game

The Saints and Vikings enter this game looking to extend their winning streaks. That’s 1 of the 4 biggest storylines in the Week 10 showdown

Storylines headed into the Saints vs. Viking game don’t revolve around the teams as individual units. It’s primarily about where they currently stand and what this game can do for them. Kirk Cousins’ injury provides the lone exception.

There are some similarities between these teams. They currently have identical records and would make the playoffs if the ended today. They’re both also entering this game looking to extend their longest win streaks of the season.

These are the 4 biggest storylines in the Week 10 game versus the Vikings:

Wisconsin still has a path to win the Big Ten West

Wisconsin still has a path to win the Big Ten West…

This is not an article I’m necessarily enjoying writing, especially right after Wisconsin suffered a terrible loss at Indiana. But, nevertheless, the Big Ten West is on-brand in its final season and the Badgers are somehow alive.

Wisconsin sits at 3-3 in Big Ten play with three games remaining: vs Northwestern, vs Nebraska and at Minnesota.

The current standings are as follows:

1-Iowa (4-2)

T2-Wisconsin (3-3)

T2-Nebraska (3-3)

T2-Minnesota (3-3)

T5-Northwestern (2-4)

T5-Illinois (2-4)

7-Purdue (1-5)

Of note, Iowa currently holds the tiebreaker over Wisconsin, but the Badgers would have it over Nebraska and Minnesota if it were to win its final three games.

That’s the first thing that must happen: Wisconsin must run the table and finish 6-3 — which right now does not feel like a likely outcome.

After that, Wisconsin would only need Iowa to lose two of its final three vs Rutgers, vs Illinois and at Nebraska.

Iowa is 7-2 and in the driver’s seat in the division right now. But it can easily lose to any team with what its offense is unable to do.

ESPN FPI currently gives Wisconsin a 27-1% chance at winning out, and a 13.2% chance at winning the West. It’s unlikely, but Luke Fickell has a shot to reverse the narrative surrounding his first season.