Saints And The Playoff Picture Entering Week 18

There's one Wild Card spot up for grabs in the NFC and a division title to be won in the NFC South. Here's where the Saints stand going into Week 18.

The race to the playoffs in the NFC is heating up even more after Week 17's slate of games wrapped up. Three teams are in, and five teams are sitting at 7-7 looking to make the Wild Card. As for the Saints, they're out of the top spots right now, but they're keeping pace with the Bucs for the NFC South and could still actually make it as the 6th or 7th seed. As of now, they have a 31 percent chance of getting in. Here's the latest conference playoff picture.

NFC Playoff Picture Going Into Week 18

1. 49ers (12-4)
2. Cowboys (11-5)
3. Lions (11-5)
4. Bucs (8-8)
5. Eagles (11-5)
6. Rams (9-7)
7. Packers (8-8)

Only two spots are up for grabs in the NFC playoff race, with one of them being the NFC South division winner. The 49ers clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage, so what to pay attention to is whether or not the Eagles can unseat the Cowboys for the NFC East and if the Lions can jump into the second spot, but Detroit is going to need some help there.

In The Hunt

• Seahawks (8-8)
• Saints (8-8)
• Vikings (7-9)
• Falcons (7-9)

There's just one spot open for the Wild Card. The Rams play the 49ers, and both are already in the playoffs. Here's a look at all the matchups that will have meaningful impact this weekend, with them all happening on Sunday.

• Bucs at Panthers (early)
• Vikings at Lions (early)
• Saints at Falcons (early)
• Seahawks at Cardinals (late)
• Bears at Packers (late)

Eliminated

• Bears (7-9)
• Giants (5-11)
• Commanders (4-12)
• Cardinals (4-12)
• Panthers (2-14)

Saints Playoff Scenarios - Week 18

How the Saints Can Make the Playoffs

It's pretty straightforward for the Saints. They have to take care of business first by beating the Falcons to have a shot at anything. In order to win the NFC South, they're going to need Carolina to upset Tampa. If that doesn't work, then they're going to have to hope the Cardinals and Bears both pull off upsets as well. 

Essentially, the Saints can either get the division after the first round of games or have to wait and see what happens in the late timeframe. If New Orleans wins the division, they'll host a Wild Card matchup against the Cowboys or Eagles. If they get in as a Wild Card, they'll travel to Dallas, Philadelphia or Detroit.