The New Orleans Saints started the season on a hot streak. Dennis Allen’s decision to add Klint Kubiak felt like the missing piece for the Saints’ success. But fast forward to Week 16 and New Orleans has been eliminated from the playoff picture.
The Saints needed the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lose, followed by New Orleans winning against the Green Bay Packers.
Instead, the Falcons demolished the New York Giants with a 34-7 win in Michael Penix Jr.’s debut, and in turn, eliminated the Saints from playoff contention. The outcome of the Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys game is now irrelevant. The NFC South is officially a two-team race.
This is the fourth consecutive year the Saints have missed the playoffs. New Orleans has still yet to make the playoffs since Drew Brees retired. Instead, the Saints have been a bad team in a bad division.
With the playoffs officially off the table, what do the Saints have to play for? Darren Rizzi is still building his case to be the team’s head coach in 2025. A win against the Packers would be the best victory by this team in a couple of years and would certainly bolster Rizzi’s resume. Young players on the roster with a lot to prove like Spencer Rattler, Kendre Miller, Bryan Bresee and Kool-Aid McKinstry want a win on Monday night, too.
Don’t expect the Saints to quit and go home just because the playoffs are out of reach, but the last few years of results haven’t lined up with what general manager Mickey Loomis sold fans and ownership when he hired Allen. This team needs bigger changes.
