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The Saints took a tough loss in the first game of Week 16. At the conclusion of the week, where are the Saints in the NFC playoff picture?
The New Orleans Saints were starting to climb up the NFC playoff picture with consecutive victories. However, a loss to the Los Angeles Rams derailed all momentum. The Saints finally played a playoff caliber team and fell short again.
The repercussions of the defeat are felt in the Saints playoff hopes. Attention now turns completely to the divisional race. Let’s take a look at why the wild card race feels like a difficult task.
This is the NFC playoff picture after Week 16’s action:
After a Saints loss on TNF, the Falcons and Buccaneers won on Christmas Eve. Where do the Saints sit in the NFC South after Week 16?
The New Orleans Saints loss to the Los Angeles Rams had major ramifications to the NFC South. The division is a three team race between the Saints, Buccaneers and Falcons. Each team is impacted directly by the Saints loss in a different way.
The Saints are clearly impacted negatively, dropping to third place in the division. They’re at a tie with the Falcons who won on Sunday. Due to a head to head victory and a better divisional win percentage, the Falcons have the edge on the tie breaker. Also, the Buccaneers are a game away from clinching the division. All of this is a result of the Saints loss on Thursday.
Taking a look at where the Colts stand in the AFC playoff picture entering Week 16.
The Indianapolis Colts have just three games remaining between them and the end of the regular season making the AFC playoff picture even more dire entering Week 16.
Being able to bounce back in an impressive way, the Colts took care of business in a 30-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home despite dealing with some injuries to key players.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the updated AFC playoff picture entering Week 16:
Breaking down the current order and the upcoming schedule of the contenders for the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft
There are three weeks left in the 2023 NFL season. The first 14 games for every team have whittled down the contenders for the top few picks in the 2024 NFL draft.
Entering Week 16, the top four picks look like this:
1. Chicago Bears (from Carolina): 2-12
2. New England Patriots: 3-11
3. Arizona Cardinal: 3-11
4. Washington Commanders: 4-10
While the next grouping of five teams (the Bears, Giants, Jets, Chargers and Titans) are all technically still in play with their 5-9 records, it seems extraordinarily unlikely the Panthers, Patriots and Cardinals will all suddenly go on season-ending winning streaks.
The Panthers won in Week 15, while the Patriots and Cardinals both lost. Washington did as well to remain in the hunt, though the Commanders lose any head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cardinals from beating them back in Week 1. They also beat the Patriots in Week 9.
Panthers host the Packers (6-8)
Patriots visit the Broncos (7-7)
Cardinals visit the Bears (5-9)
Commanders visit the Jets (5-9)
The Falcons’ surprising loss to the Panthers leaves New Orleans tied with Tampa Bay for first place. Here’s the current NFC South standings:
The New Orleans Saints remained tied for first place in the NFC South after defeating the New York Giants. The difference between this week and last week is the tiebreakers leave the Saints at second place. Atlanta losing to the Panthers was a surprising result, and it removes them from the tie for first place.
The Saints and Buccaneers now stand alone at the top of the division. A head to head victory in Week 4 gives Tampa Bay the lead for first place.
Here’s how the NFC South stacks up after a crazy Week 15:
How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs. Jacksonville State
Wisconsin basketball returns to the hardwood on Thursday night, as the team looks to rebound from a historic loss to Arizona.
The Badgers remain 7-3 (1-0 Big Ten) on the season and ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll. And the team now gets a few easier matchups before Big Ten play heats up after the New Year.
Up next is a Jacksonville State team ranked No. 214 in KenPom. The ranking service has the Gamecocks ranked as the No. 284 offense and No. 124 defense, both tallies far, far behind Wisconsin’s No. 12 and No. 28 rank respectively.
It’s a good bounce-back opportunity for the Badgers.
Here is how to watch Wisconsin vs Jacksonville State:
Taking a look at where the Colts sit in the AFC playoff picture entering Week 15.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Indianapolis Colts find themselves near the top of a six-team group all vying for the final two wild-card spots in the AFC playoff race.
Coming off their worst loss of the season, a 34-14 defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Colts are looking to show they have what it takes to bounce back when tensions are rising.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the updated AFC playoff picture entering Week 15:
Where are the Saints picking in the 2024 NFL draft after Week 14’s games? Here’s a quick look at the latest projections:
Where are the New Orleans Saints picking in the 2024 NFL draft after Week 14’s games? With picks coming back from the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles, it’s worth keeping up with other squads around the league as standings begin to settle going into the playoffs race.
But it’s all about the Saints. Here’s a quick look at the latest projections with Week 14 in the books, via Tankathon:
Fortunately that’s not all, it’s just the only the picks the Saints have to work with right now. They’re projected to receive three compensatory selections in the fifth round that would slot in at Nos. 167, 168, and 173 for having lost David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, and Marcus Davenport in free agency earlier this year. But those comp picks won’t be confirmed until March so they may end up differently than expected.
So how did we get here? Where are all of the Saints’ early-round picks? General manager Mickey Loomis traded them away. He sent New Orleans’ second-round pick (No. 43) to the Philadelphia Eagles to get another first-round pick in last year’s draft, which was spent on Trevor Penning. He also traded the Saints’ fourth-round pick (No. 113) to the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up and get Jake Haener in this year’s draft. And Loomis sent the third-round pick (No. 78) back to the Broncos along with Sean Payton to facilitate that trade.
Loomis and the Saints went all-in on Dennis Allen’s vision for the team. What it’s gotten them is a losing record and a series of tiebreaking losses for the crown in the worst division in pro football, and now the cupboard is looking awfully bare.
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NFC South standings: Mutual mediocrity results in a three-way tie on top between the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A 6-7 record would put your team in third or fourth place in seven different divisions around the NFL, but not the NFC South. That’s good enough to tie for first place.
Mutual mediocrity has resulted in a three-way tie for the NFC South lead after Week 14’s action, with the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers each jostling for position. The winner gets a home playoff game. The losers will be watching from home.
But how did we get here? What tiebreakers are in play? Let’s break it down for each team with the latest NFC South standings:
The Saints must take care of the Panthers first, but the outcome of Falcons vs. Bucs is important to New Orleans’ NFC South title hopes.
The Who Dat Nation should watch the Atlanta Falcons-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game closely on Sunday. Their New Orleans Saints currently sit in third place in the NFC South and that’s as low as they can drop in Week 14 with a loss. They could raise as high as second-place with a win over the Carolina Panthers. Though a Tampa Bay loss causes the Saints to rise to second-place, the Bucs winning is still more favorable to the Saints.
As it currently stands, the Falcons stand at the top of the NFC South with a 6-6 record. At 5-7 each, New Orleans and Tampa Bay are tied for second place, but Tampa has the tiebreaker. The best outcome New Orleans could hope for is a 3-way tie for first place at the end of the week. That can only come from a Buccaneers victory.
An Atlanta victory gives the Falcons a 4-0 divisional record. Them defeating Carolina later in the season isn’t guaranteed but should be expected. Essentially, winning this week would give the Falcons a good chance at winning five NFC South games and that would clinch them any tiebreakers against New Orleans. The Saints could tie the head-to-head matchups, but would lose the divisional record tiebreaker in this hypothetical.
A Buccaneers loss would be great for the standings at the end of the week, but an Atlanta loss is more beneficial for the long term goals of the season. Either way the outcome of the Falcons versus Buccaneers game should be of interest to Saints fans.
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