With just four games left in a season that hasn’t gone their way, the New Orleans Saints (3-10) don’t have much left to chase in terms of playoff hopes. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make some noise down the stretch - especially this Sunday, when they have a chance to shake up the NFC South race in a big way.
The Saints will host the division-leading Carolina Panthers (7-6) at the Superdome in a late-afternoon matchup (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX), with a chance to complete a season sweep after knocking off the Panthers 17-7 back on November 9.
That win, at the time, felt like a surprise. But now, it’s part of a trend - New Orleans playing the role of spoiler with some real bite.
Head coach Kellen Moore kept things grounded during his midweek press conference, noting that every game is its own story. “At the end of the day, it’s getting back to neutral for both teams,” Moore said.
“Other games happened in between that. These games will play out different.
That’s how these are.”
He’s right. A lot has happened since that first meeting.
Carolina now sits atop the NFC South after Tampa Bay’s narrow 29-28 loss to Atlanta on Thursday night. That dropped the Bucs to 7-7, giving the Panthers a slight edge in what’s become a chaotic division race.
And while the spotlight in the NFC South is fixed on Carolina and Tampa Bay - especially with those two teams set to face off twice in the final three weeks - the Saints have quietly become the team that could throw a wrench into it all. They’ve already done it once this month, going into Tampa on December 7 and handing the Bucs their fourth loss in five games. That win didn’t just snap a skid - it tightened the screws on the entire division.
Now, New Orleans has another chance to mess with a rival’s postseason plans. A win over Carolina wouldn’t mean much in the standings for the Saints, but it could carry serious weight for the Panthers, who are trying to claw their way back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. A loss in New Orleans would not only hurt their record - it could rattle their confidence heading into the final stretch, especially with two games against the Bucs still looming.
For the Saints, this is about pride, development, and maybe a little payback for a season that hasn’t gone their way. But make no mistake - they’ve already shown they can play spoiler. And if they do it again on Sunday, the ripple effect could be felt all the way through January.