The NFC South champion New Orleans Saints currently sit in third place in the conference playoff standings. They’re tied with the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers, but the 49ers have the edge in the head-to-head tiebreaker and the Packers have the edge in the conference record tiebreaker.
In Week 17, the 49ers travel to Seattle, Green Bay travels to Detroit, and New Orleans travels to Carolina. If all three win, the Saints will be the No. 3 seed and host the Minnesota Vikings in the wild card round. The Saints best chance to secure a first round bye is either Seattle or Detroit winning this Sunday.
Saints fans are motivated this weekend, and Slidell, Louisiana-based car dealer Matt Bowers has put his money where his mouth is. Bowers tweeted at David Blough that if the Lions beat the Packers this Sunday, Bowers would hook Blough up with a brand truck or other vehicle of his choice.
Bro - #NOLA is supporting you Sunday Beat the #Packers and I will hook you up with a new 2020 Silverado or 2020 F150 ( or whatever you want - I’m cool ) #Lions #Saints @david_blough10 #WhoDatNation pic.twitter.com/9ajZJQWD7r
— Matt Bowers (@Matthew_Bowers_) December 24, 2019
The Lions are massive underdogs, getting 12.5 points at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Lions won the last two games in Detroit against the Packers, but they were also favored in both games. Matthew Stafford is injured and not walking through that door in Week 17 to help Detroit, so it’s on the shoulders of Blough. He replaced Jeff Driskel after the latter suffered his own injury.
Blough is winless in four starts, and it’s hard to see Detroit winning this one. They’ve lost at home to Chicago and Tampa Bay, and on the road to Minnesota and Denver. The Packers can clinch a first round bye with a win, and if the Seahawks also win, Green Bay would clinch home field in the playoffs.
The Saints best shot at a first round bye would be Russell Wilson and the Seahawks beating the 49ers. New Orleans holds the tiebreaker edge over the Seahawks thanks to a head-to-head win. The Seahawks are 3.5-point underdogs in that one, but Wilson has never lost a home game to the 49ers at CenturyLink Field. I’m guessing Bowers won’t be offering Wilson a truck.