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The New Orleans Saints clinched the NFC South in Week 16 thanks to the mediocre NFC East, will be no worse than the No. 3 seed in the 2021 NFL playoffs. The Saints are 11-4 heading into Week 17 and currently hold the No. 2 seed due to a better conference record than the Seahawks.
The Saints can move into the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs if they beat the Panthers on Sunday, the Packers lose to the Bears, and the Seahawks beat the 49ers. The tiebreakers don’t fall their way if they end up in a tie with Green Bay and the Seahawks lose.
The Saints clinch the No. 2 seed if they win and the Packers win, or if the Seahawks lose. New Orleans would drop into the No. 3 seed if they lose and the Seahawks win.
The Saints entered the season as favorites to win the NFC South at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Saints were -125 and the Buccaneers were +150 ahead of Week 1. New Orleans was -385 to clinch any kind of playoff berth.