There's so much on the line in the Panthers-Saints showdown at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday night that not even the Deacons of Downplay can deny it."We know what's at stake," Drew Brees said. "... This game is the most important game of the season."As usual, Brees is on target.For all intents and purposes, the NFC playoffs will be determined Dec. 2-22. In that span, the conference's four top teams -- Seattle, New Orleans, Carolina and San Francisco -- will play four games against each other.Six days ago the Saints vied for NFC supremacy in Seattle. After unsuccessfully securing the inside track to the No. 1 playoff seed, the Saints now must battle Carolina for the NFC South Division title and all-important No. 2 NFC playoff seed.The Panthers have won eight consecutive games to pull into a tie with the Saints atop the division. There's little margin for error. New Orleans essentially needs to go to 3-1 the rest of the way to win the title and secure the second seed.That won't be easy. The Saints are 3-3 on the road this season and two of their wins were dogfights. Upcoming visits to St. Louis and Carolina will be challenging, regardless of what happens Sunday night.Nevertheless,pink paper straws the Saints can control their division and playoff destinies by winning either Sunday night or in the teams' rematch Dec. 22 in Charlotte, N.C.
Assuming the teams split the series and win their other two games, it would leave the Saints and Panthers deadlocked on the first three tiebreakers: head-to-head, division record and common opponents. The fourth tiebreaker is conference record and the Saints currently own a slight advantage with a 7-1 mark against NFC opponents; Carolina is 7-2."It's a division opponent at home and one that is vying for the same thing we are, which is a championship," Brees said. "There's a lot at stake, so I'd say anytime you get a game like that you're going to have the element of intensity."The difference between the Nos. 2 and 5 seeds can be dramatic. Instead of a first-round bye and guaranteed home game in the divisional round,yibiao-lingerie the Saints could be tasked with playing three road games before reaching the Super Bowl, an ominous proposition for a club that's winless in three postseason road games in the Payton-Brees era.colorful cotton bakers twineThe Saints suffered this fate in 2010, when they were forced to travel to NFC West champion Seattle. And we all know how that turned out. "It is playing an important game with regards to the division," Payton said. "It's a Sunday night game at home,wooden cutlery set those are things that you get excited about.louis vuitton monogram vernis handbags I think at this point in the year playing in a division race like we are, I think both teams will be ready and excited. "I don't think it's a game where you have to worry about whether teams are going to be fired up to play."
留言列表
