Start to Decide Saints' Fate

By Jim Gazzolo

There are more questions than answers to the Saints’ hopes this coming season.

It is hard to think of them as a frontrunner for any of the playoff spots, but they could be in the running if things go right.

So they are more like a team stuck in the middle of the muck. The Saints’ playoff hopes will hinge on avoiding injuries and getting better-than-expected play from some key guys.

The Super Bowl appears out of reach, but a wild-card playoff berth is not. In order for that to happen the Saints must find a way to navigate through a tough early portion of their schedule. The NFL released all schedules Wednesday.

After being given the easiest of opening games, a home contest against hapless Carolina, the Saints will have their work cut out for them the next month.

From weeks 2 through 5, New Orleans will have to battle four teams with major playoff expectations this season. Three of those games will be on the road. 

And the week after they get Tampa Bay, which won the NFC South last season. 

Those five games will go a long way in deciding what kind of a season the Saints will likely have. 

The stretch starts with a game in Dallas against the Cowboys, who are under immense pressure to go deep in the playoffs. Time is running out on the Dax Prescott era in Big D.

The Saints then come home for Week 3 to host the Philadelphia Eagles, who like Dallas were crushed in the first round of the playoffs last season in what were considered major upsets. 

So they either have something to prove or are on the downslide. Either way, the Saints will be tested. 

Then comes back-to-back road games starting at improved Atlanta in Week 4. The Falcons are the fancy pick to win the NFC South this season. This game will be a good indication of just where the Saints stand.

Week 5 brings the toughest of tests, a Monday night showdown against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Kansas City. The Saints' defense will test their skills against Patrick Mahomes in front of a national television audience. 

The next week the Saints are back at home for the first to two straight beginning with a game against the champs for their division, Tampa Bay. Going 3-3 over the first six games would be considered a win for New Orleans and put the Saints in a good position to make a playoff run.

The 12 remaining games are against just five playoff teams from last season with just one of them having won a game. Combined they went 1-5 in the postseason.

The Saints even get that one playoff winner at home when they host Green Bay two days before Christmas in their third and final prime-time game.

So if the Saints can stay afloat for the first six weeks, the rest of the season is manageable. 

For them, it all comes down to the start.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese athletics. He is the host of Poke Nation on CBS-Lake Charles