New Orleans Saints lock up third seed, will meet Vikings in Wild Card round

The New Orleans Saints locked up the third seed and will take on the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs.

It’s hard to believe, but the New Orleans Saints are going to enter the NFC playoffs with a 13-3 record. While that’s easy to believe, what’s hard to believe is that they’ll still be playing on Wild Card weekend.

They finished the regular season tied at 13-3 with the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. However, due to tiebreakers, the Saints will be awarded the third seed in the NFC playoffs.

Sadly, they weren’t able to secure that coveted first-round bye.

After both the 49ers and Packers prevailed in nail-biting Week 17 performances, the Saints’ worst-case scenario for the week became a reality. However, that’s still no unrest in the Big Easy as the Saints will confidently welcome the Vikings in just a few weeks.

The game is set for January 5 at 1:05 pm EST.

It will be a slugfest as the Minnesota Vikings will march in with Stefon Diggs and Kirk Cousins, two players that have both played exceptionally good and bad at times this season. However, the Saints will counter with their players that are hitting stride at the right time.

The Saints will be riding high into the matchup as they absolutely dominated the Carolina Panthers in their last outing. A confidence-boosting performance, the Saints were able to win with ease, putting their backups in for a decent chunk of the second half.

That said, the Eagles at No. 4 and then the Seahawks at No. 5 round out the six teams that will represent the NFC in the postseason. With the Seahawks, 49ers and Saints as the favorites to take the conference, the next months or so will be thrilling for fans.

The Saints played this season like a team deserving of a top-two seed. But, it just didn’t work out, and they’ll go back to scouting and preparing for Minnesota who will come to town in just under a week.