Saints Playoff Hopes All But Finished After Loss To Washington

After Sunday's loss to Washington, here is the one remaining scenario for the Saints to (miraculously) make the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener (3) is hit by Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu (4) as he passes / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints fell to 5-9 with a last-second loss at home to Washington on Sunday. With that defeat, it all but guarantees that the Saints will miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

After falling behind 14-0 by halftime, then 17-0 early in the third quarter, New Orleans fought valiantly. Even with the loss of RB Alvin Kamara on their first drive of the second half, the Saints battled back. They clawed back into the game behind rookie QB Spencer Rattler, RB Kendre Miller, and an aggressive defense finally playing up to their abilities.

A touchdown pass to TE Foster Moreau on the last play of regulation brought the Saints to within a point. Rather than kick the extra point and opt for overtime, interim coach Darren Rizzi chose to go for two.

Unfortunately, Rattler's pass to TE Juwan Johnson sailed slightly wide of the mark, sending New Orleans to a 20-19 defeat. Since firing Dennis Allen six weeks ago, the Saints have played noticeably better. However, this loss dropped their record to 3-2 under Rizzi. It also basically ensured that the team will miss the NFL postseason yet again.

PLAYOFFS?! Cue Up Jim Mora

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (83) is unable to bring in a 2-point pass against Washington / dailypress.com

Believe it or not, the Saints are not mathematically eliminated from the NFC South race. Their chances were pretty slim coming into Week 15. After their loss to Washington and Tampa Bay's win against the Chargers, however, they cannot get a wild-card spot and it will now take a legitimate miracle to win the division.

Because of the hole that New Orleans has dug for themselves, there is only one remaining scenario where the Saints can qualify for the postseason.

• Saints win their last three games
PLUS
• Buccaneers lose all of their last three games
PLUS
• Falcons lose three of their four remaining games (they play Monday night at the Raiders)

If this scenario plays out, New Orleans and Tampa Bay would both finish the year with 8-9 records while the Falcons would finish at 7-10. The Saints would win the NFC South title by virtue of a better division record (3-3 versus 2-4) than the Buccaneers.

Atlanta, currently 6-7, comes into Monday night's game against the 2-11 Raiders on a four-game losing streak. Even if New Orleans wins out and Tampa Bay loses out, the Saints need the Falcons to finish at 7-10 or worse. Otherwise, a three-way tie at 8-9 would give Atlanta the NFC South championship based on their division record.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) scrambles away from Washington defensive tackle Daron Payne (94) / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Saints Remaining Schedule

• at Packers (10-4)
• vs. Raiders (2-11)
• at Buccaneers (8-6)

Buccaneers Remaining Schedule

• at Cowboys (6-8)
• vs. Panthers (3-11)
• vs. Saints (5-9)

Falcons Remaining Schedule

• at Raiders (2-11)
• vs. Giants (2-12)
• at Washington (9-5)
• vs. Panthers (3-11)

It is entirely possible that New Orleans may be officially eliminated from playoff contention before they even take the field next Monday night at Green Bay. I

If Atlanta wins tonight against Las Vegas and next Sunday afternoon against the Giants, the Saints are out. The same will be true if Tampa Bay defeats Dallas next Sunday night.