Saints Fans : NFL Week 13 Who To Root For....

Schedule-watching starts early in Week 13 with two relevant NFC matchups on Thursday.

Seattle at Dallas (7-4)
Obviously root for the Seahawks here. Seattle played tough against Washington as predicted, but failed to pull off the upset. I don't expect them to put up as much of a fight traveling East and playing Dallas, but you never know. The Cowboys are currently occupying one of the 2 Wild Card spots that the Saints are fighting for (although we want the South).

Root for Seattle
Importance to Saints: Medium

Arizona (7-4) at Philadelphia (5-5-1)
Root for Philadelphia here as the Saints still have legitimate NFC South aspirations and we'd like to have a 1st Round bye if we pull off the 7 game streak. Additionally, Philadelphia has a tough remaining schedule and we'd like them to stay mathematically alive so that they can knock off Washington (Week 16) and Dallas (Week 17). So there you have it - TWO reasons to root for the Iggles.

Root for: Philadelphia
Importance to Saints: High


Baltimore at Cincinnati
Another AFC game that has repercussions for the Saints. Baltimore is only 1 game behind Pittsburgh and hosts Washington in Week 14 and visits Dallas in Week 16. We obviously want the Ravens to win this game to stay in the Division hunt. After Cincinnati, the Ravens play the Steelers so they will either be tied for 1st place or scrambling for their Wild Card lives when the Redskins roll into town. Either way, a win v's the Bengals will have the Ravens fighting their asses off v's Washington and will ensure that they're at the very least mathematically alive in Week 16 when the visit Dallas.

Root for: Baltimore
Importance: Medium


Carolina (8-3) at Green Bay (5-6)
Huge game here. If we're assuming that Carolina will continue to fade down the stretch (they've looked like crap the last 4 weeks even though they've somehow gone 3-1) this is a pretty big must-lose game for them. Green Bay is still in the thick of the NFC North race and will be fighting to save their season. A loss here would basically ensure that the Saints will be chasing Atlanta and Tampa as Carolina bumbles to the finish.

Root for: Green Bay
Importance to Saints: High


New York Giants (10-1) at Washington (7-4)
This is why I argued so adamantly for rooting for the Cardinals over the Giants. New York isn't really in a "must win" game here. We assume that they'll WANT to win it, but if they split 1 of 2 v's Dallas and Washington they'll still be in the driver's seat for home field. I expect nothing less than a great effort from NY regardless but it's nice to know that a win is needed equally by both teams.

Root For: Giants
Importance to Saints: High


New Orleans (6-5) at Tampa Bay (8-3)
Tampa is now back in first place and are probably the team to beat as far as the NFC South goes. This is absolutely a must-win game due to Conference and Division tiebreaker factors. A loss here ensures the Saints will have a subpar record in both and would mean that even if we run the table and finish 10-6 a wild card spot would be iffy at best. We might be without Smith and Deuce as well if the NFL hands down those unfair suspensions. A win in Tampa will shakeup the NFC South landscape and have the talking heads across the nation wondering if finally the Saints have discovered their 2006 mojo. Also, a win here v's Tampa sets up a ton of realistic scenarios where a 10-6 finish could deliver not only the NFC South, but also a 1st round bye - just like in 2006. This is the GAME OF THE MOTHERfrickING YEAR for the Saints.

Root for: Saints
Importance: Vital


Atlanta (7-4) at San Diego (4-7)
Obviously we root for the Chargers here. Thank God that Oakland went into Denver and shocked the Broncos or else the Chargers would be mailing it in by now.

Root for: Chargers
Importance to Saints: High



Pittsburgh at New England
I don't really have a thought on whether or not we root for the Steelers here. We might want them to lose so that they'll be tied with Baltimore and face a must-win v's Dallas next week. Then again, even if they win they'll be thinking 1st round bye so it's not like they'll try less hard. Hmm - ultimately the threat of losing divisional lead and any home playoff games seems to be more scary that losing a bye. I say root for New England here. Not huge though.

Root For: New England
Importance to Saints: Minimal


Denver at New York Jets
We want Denver and San Diego to be neck and neck all the way. The Broncos visit Carolina in Week 15 and we've already documented how the Chargers can help us out. So foot for the Jets here to ensure this happens.

Root for: NY Jets
Importance to Saints: Low/Medium


Chicago (6-5) at Minnesota (6-5)
This is a toughie. We lost the tiebreaker to Minnesota due to the head to head. We still have to play Chicago and would like them to be trending down. We probably want Minnesota to win the North since they already own the tiebreaker v's us.

My verdict: Root for Minnesota

Importance to Saints: Low to Medium