Well that stinks. The New Orleans Saints will hit the field next week without any playoff ramifications for the first time in years, having not gotten the help they needed on Sunday.
Despite having beaten the Philadelphia Eagles to improve to 7-9 on the season, the Saints needed one more game to go their way to keep their hopes alive another week. But the Minnesota Vikings proved all of their doubters right, choking to the Green Bay Packers and eliminating the Saints from playoff contention in their 41-17 loss. Thanks for nothing, Minnesota.
So there’s no path forward for New Orleans, but no false hope, either. Fans won’t have to kid themselves into hoping three or four other games end with the results they need next week so they can elbow their way into the playoff picture. It’s disappointing to see their season end like this, but that might be better than the alternative. Drawing this out much longer might get exhausting.
But you play to win the game, right? And the Saints’ schedule isn’t over just yet. The Carolina Panthers are visiting next Sunday and both teams want to leave with their pride. Carolina might leave with more — this is an opportunity for them to tie up the all-time record with New Orleans, which the Saints lead 28-27. Those would be nice bragging rights to take with them into the offseason.
It’s a shame the Saints’ season ended out of their control, but they let too many chances slip through their fingers to get to this point. They’re going to end this year with a losing record. Close losses to the Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers loom large. At the end of the day the Saints didn’t take care of business and it came back to bite them. Better luck next year.