4 teams standing in NOLA Saints’ way of making the playoffs

1. Atlanta Falcons

It’s an easy task to hate the Atlanta Falcons and now fans have yet another reason to root against their hated rival in the final few weeks of the season. The two NFC South teams squared off in week 9 and while the Saints had a padded lead against the hated Falcons, they blew it, allowing Atlanta to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

This loss came one week after NOLA pulled off a stunning defeat of the Buccaneers to move to 5-2. Beating the Falcons would have moved the Saints to 6-2 and they’d have been in first place in the division. We all know what happened instead, as the black and gold spiraled downwards after they took down the defending champs.

We’ll see Saints vs. Falcons again in the final game of the regular season and it’s imperative New Orleans win that game if they want to make the postseason. Not only would it be an embarrassment to be swept by the Falcons, but this game could very well determine who punches their ticket to the playoffs.

These four teams all stand in the NOLA Saints’ way of making the postseason. Even winning out might not be enough to get the Saints to the playoffs at this point and they only have themselves to blame for that.