New Orleans Saints Need One Win To Clinch No.1 Seed In NFC Playoffs, Rams, Bears In Contention

The New Orleans Saints are on the verge of clinching home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs. After beating the Carolina Panthers 12-9 on “Monday Night Football,” Drew Brees, Sean Payton and Co. need just one more victory to secure the conference’s No.1 seed.

New Orleans improved to an NFL-best 12-2 with their Week 15 victory. It put them a game ahead of the Los Angeles Rams in the standings. The Saints own the tiebreaker over the Rams, so either one win for New Orleans or one loss for the Rams would the put NFC South champs ahead of the NFC West champs for good.

The Chicago Bears are still in contention to get a playoff bye. They’d need to win their next two games in addition to the Saints losing their final two games in order to catch New Orleans.

Chicago would own the tiebreaker over New Orleans if both teams finished 12-4 because the Bears would have the better conference record. The Saints have the edge over the Rams because they defeated L.A. 45-35 at the Superdome on Nov. 4.

Of the three teams still competing for a first-round bye, the Saints are the only one that will end the regular season with two home games. New Orleans is a six-point favorite over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16, according to OddsShark. The Saints will host the Panthers in the season finale when Carolina will likely be eliminated from playoff contention.

The Rams will end the season on the road against the Arizona Cardinals and at home against the San Francisco 49ers. After the Bears visit San Francisco in Week 16, they’ll play another road game with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Saints have bounced back with two straight victories after being stunned by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13, but they haven't looked like the dominant team that won 10 straight games after a Week 1 loss. New Orleans averaged 16.7 points per game during their three-game road trip, and Brees certainly didn’t strengthen his MVP candidacy.

Brees hasn’t thrown for more than 203 yards in a month. His average stat line over the last three games has been 177 yards and 5.65 yards per attempt with a 69.1 completion percentage and a 77.2 passer rating. He’s got two touchdown passes and three interceptions during that span.

Through the first 12 weeks, Brees averaged 285 passing yards per game, completing 76.4 percent of his passes with 8.81 yards per attempt. He threw for 29 touchdowns and two picks.

Things could improve for Brees and the Saints when they play at home for the first time since Thanksgiving. The quarterback has put up eye-popping numbers at home, averaging 320.8 passing yards and 9.77 yards per attempt. Brees has a 139.1 passer rating, 20 touchdown passes and one interception at home. New Orleans is scoring 38 points per game in the Superdome.

If the Saints are able to ensure that they'll play every NFC playoff game at home, New Orleans will be significant favorites to reach the Super Bowl.