Fifth-straight NFC South title likely out of reach for NOLA Saints
The NOLA Saints have owned the NFC South over the past four years and last year won the division after sweeping the other three teams. It’s been a totally different story this year, which isn’t shocking considering that Drew Brees retired and the offense has been really bad.
While the Saints aren’t mathematically eliminated from winning the division, it’s not a likely scenario at all, especially considering how easy the Bucs’ schedule is down the stretch. Their game against Buffalo on Sunday was their most difficult game remaining on the schedule and they eked out a win there, so it should be smooth sailing for them.
If the Bucs win this weekend against the Saints, the NFC South is theirs for the first time since 2007. Some might have forgotten that Tampa didn’t end up winning the division last year so this would be their first division title in 14 years.
Another weird thing about the Saints’ upcoming game with the Bucs: It’s a massively important game for the Saints in the playoff race, but even with a sweep of Tampa the NFC South is basically out of reach.
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) December 13, 2021
The Bucs would have to lose out for the Saints to even have a chance. pic.twitter.com/puhPQHnDln
As Jeff Nowak notes in the tweet above, even if the Saints were to knock off Tampa again this weekend (they’re 10.5-point underdogs to the Bucs), they’d have to win out and hope for the bad guys to lose out for the rest of the season. That isn’t happening.
NOLA Saints aren’t going to win fifth-straight NFC South title
As of now, WynnBET doesn’t even allow people to bet on the Bucs to win the division because they’re so far ahead of the pack. New Orleans has +2250 odds to win the NFC South while Atlanta and Carolina each have +10000 odds to be NFC South champions. Yeah, it’s been a rough year for the division.
No one is surprised to see Tampa cruise to the division title, however, as we all knew the Saints would take a step back this year. They absolutely had an opportunity to make things interesting though, especially when they defeated the Bucs in Week 8 and moved to 5-2 and just one game behind their rival.
5 Shining Stars from Week 14. dark. Next
After that, the Saints dropped five straight games and fell out of the running to win the division. They can still make the playoffs but a division title is not in the cards for New Orleans.