FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Saints will not have a five-peat as the NFC South champs, but there is a potential path to their fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs.
The Saints must beat the Falcons (4:25 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium) and have the Los Angeles Rams prevail over the San Francisco 49ers to claim the seventh, and final, playoff berth in the NFC.
It would mark the Saints’ ninth trip to the playoffs since Sean Payton became the coach in 2006. The Saints won the Super Bowl after the 2009 season.
The Saints, who started play a year after the Falcons in 1967, made only five playoff appearances before Payton arrived.
“Shoot, obviously, last week’s game (against Carolina) was a must-win game, and we treated that like a playoff game,” quarterback Taysom Hill said. “This week has more of a playoff feel for us, knowing if we don’t win that we are for sure going home. Our mindset is the same.”
The Saints have dealt with the injuries, including losing starting quarterback Jameis Winston for most of the season, not having wide receiver Michael Thomas, COVID-19 outbreaks and being displaced during Hurricane Ida.
The Saints have rebounded from a five-game losing streak that started with the Falcons beating them 27-25 on a field goal at the buzzer Nov. 7.
They’ve won three of their past four games, including a 9-0 win over Tampa Bay on Dec. 19.
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