Getty The New Orleans Saints have already clinched a playoff spot.
The New Orleans Saints have already clinched a playoff spot, but the question is what seed they will hold in the postseason. If the playoffs started today, the Saints would be the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 Vikings during Wild Card weekend.
New Orleans has an identical 11-3 record as Seattle and Green Bay, but the three-way tie gives the Seahawks the edge in the tiebreaker. Saints fans should be rooting hard for the Packers to lose one of their next two games. If New Orleans ends up in a tie with just Seattle, the Saints would land the higher seed thanks to their victory over the Seahawks earlier this season.
The Saints do have a relatively challenging schedule to close out the season but will be favored in both matchups. New Orleans takes on Tennessee then closes out the season against Carolina with both games taking place on the road.
New Orleans has already won the NFC South but is looking to climb as high as No. 1 in the conference playoff seeding. If the Saints are able to secure a top-two seed, they would get a first-round bye and face one of the winners of the Wild Card matchups. The No. 1 seed has the advantage of facing the lowest remaining seed.
After the Saints clinched a postseason berth earlier this season, Drew Brees noted that the team has their eye on more than just making the playoffs.
“This was objective No. 1 obviously, winning the division,” Brees noted, per Saints.com. “You know our mindset, the guys we have and just kind of how we progressed each and every year. We’ve got bigger fish to fry so to speak but have a list of goals and objectives. We just want to knock them down one by one, but at the end of the day, let’s just keep it simple right now. Let’s just focus on playing our best football. I still think it’s out there on both sides of the ball. If we continue to do that and do better each week, we’ll see what happens.”
Here is a look at the Saints’ playoff picture heading into Week 16.
NFC South Standings
The Saints have already clinched the NFC South.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| Saints | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Buccaneers | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Falcons | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Panthers | 5 | 9 | 0 |
NFC Playoff Standings
Teams with an asterisk have already clinched a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| 1. Seahawks* | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 2. Packers* | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 3. Saints* | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 4. Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 5. 49ers* | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 6. Vikings | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| 7. Rams | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| 8. Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 9. Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 10. Buccaneers | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 11. Falcons | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 12. Panthers | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 13. Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 14. Giants | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 15. Redskins | 3 | 11 | 0 |
NFC Playoff Matchups
Here are the current NFC playoff matchups if the postseason started today. The top two seeds get a first-round bye and host a playoff game in the Divisional Round.
No. 6 Minnesota Vikings vs. No. 3 New Orleans Saints
No. 5 San Francisco 49ers vs. No. 4 Dallas Cowboys
Bye: No. 1 Seattle Seahawks, No. 2 Green Bay Packers
NFC Wild Card Standings
The top two teams in the Wild Card standings will claim a playoff spot. Teams in bold would make the playoffs if the postseason started today.
| TEAM | W | L | T |
| 1. 49ers* | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 2. Vikings | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| 3. Rams | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| 4. Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 5. Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 6. Buccaneers | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 7. Falcons | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 8. Panthers | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 9. Cardinals | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 10. Redskins | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 11. Giants | 3 | 11 | 0 |
