The Saints are on path for home field advantage through the playoffs

The Philadelphia Eagles picked a good time to resemble their Super Bowl form from a year ago, as they upset the Los Angeles Rams 30-23 on Sunday night. With the Rams now at 11-3, the Saints are in the driver’s seat to take first place and seal home field advantage in the playoffs. Since the Saints defeated the Rams in their matchup earlier in the year, the Saints have the head-to-head tie breaker. So, even if the Rams win out the rest of their games, the Saints will only need to win two out of their next three games to clinch the number one seed.

Coming up tonight, they will face a Carolina Panthers team that boasts an array of dangerous skilled players that include Curtis Samuel, D.J. Moore, and Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers will look to get all these players involved as well as using a lot of pre-snap motions in an attempt to confuse the defense. In the middle of a six-game losing streak, the Panthers will try to rebound at home, where the average 30.8 points per game.

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Next Sunday, the Saints will return home after a long three-game stretch away from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers will be fighting for a spot in the postseason and will look to get the ball to their double-headed monster at the wide receiver position. The defense will really be put to the test in this game as they line up against Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster and an offensive line that can make any running back look elite.

They will then close out season at home, playing the Panthers for the second time in three weeks. If the team can handle business in Weeks 15 and 16, it would give Sean Payton the option of sitting his starters in this game having claimed the number one seed at this point.

While it’s not a sure bet, the Saints control their own destiny at this point and can make the road to Atlanta go through New Orleans.