Saints Still Have Opportunities in NFC South

The Saints are far from out of the race in the NFC South, but must finally help themselves with better football.

The New Orleans Saints fell to 3-4 with a home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night. New Orleans now has an extra few days of rest before they next take on the Indianapolis Colts on October 29.

The Saints certainly haven't helped themselves with their own poor play, but the play of their NFC South rivals has kept them from falling too far back. At 3-4, they are far from out of the division race despite their own shortcomings. 

Here are the NFC South standings heading into Sunday's Week 7 slate of games.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

2. Atlanta Falcons (3-3)

3. New Orleans Saints (3-4)

4. Carolina Panthers (0-6)

The winless Panthers have a bye this weekend. Atlanta plays at Tampa Bay at noon Central Time. If the Buccaneers win, then the Saints will still be in second place because of tiebreaker but be two games behind Tampa Bay for first place. The Saints also lost to the Buccaneers in Week 4. This gives New Orleans an additional tiebreaker disadvantage, at least until the rematch between the two teams on December 31.

The South tightens up more if Atlanta beats the Buccaneers. New Orleans would be in third place, but only a game and a half behind Tampa Bay and one game behind the Falcons. 

Here is the remainder of the Saints schedule, along with the current record of those opponents. (all games are Sunday unless otherwise noted)

Oct. 29 - at Indianapolis Colts (3-3)

Nov. 5 - vs. Chicago Bears (1-5)

Nov. 12 - at Minnesota Vikings (2-4)

Nov. 19 - BYE

Nov. 26 - at Atlanta Falcons (3-3)

Dec. 3 - vs. Detroit Lions (5-1)

Dec. 10 - vs. Carolina Panthers (0-6)

Dec. 17 - vs. New York Giants (1-5)

Dec. 21 (Thurs.) - at Los Angeles Rams (3-3)

Dec. 31 - at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

Jan. 7 - vs. Atlanta Falcons (3-3)

On paper, the Saints have a stretch of very winnable games up to their December 3rd matchup with the Lions. However, those teams might very well think the same thing about the Saints. 

Oct 15, 2023; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) looks to pass against the Houston Texans. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans has a 10-14 record under coach Dennis Allen and are only 5-6 in the Superdome. Eight of those ten wins were against teams with losing records at the time or since. Their three victories this season have come against teams with a current combined record of 3-15. Under Allen, the Saints have a record of 2-12 against teams that are .500 or above when they faced them or since.  

The Saints could get all the help in the world from the other NFC South teams. We saw that exact scenario play out last year, but the New Orleans still missed the playoffs because their own dismal play. It won't make a bit of a difference if they don't take care of their own business and start winning.