Saints Open as Solid Road Favorites in Pivotal Week 18 Matchup

A slew of injuries coupled with a few close losses has made this New Orleans Saints' season a bit of a roller coaster. However, they still have a chance to make the playoffs heading into Week 18. All it would take is a win over the Atlanta Falcons and a San Francisco 49ers loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Big win by @saints means the @49ers can’t clinch and New Orleans will have a playoff clinching scenario for Week 18.

The team standing directly in their way wielding the fork to stick in them: their hated rival @AtlantaFalcons
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) January 3, 2022

Saints Playoff Scenarios

The oddsmakers project the Saints to hold up their end of the bargain given they have opened as 4.5-point road favorites against the Falcons, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Of course, it's hard to forget that Atlanta took down their divisional rival thanks to a last-second field goal back in Week 9.

Not only does New Orleans have revenge on their mind, but it is also holding on to the idea of making the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. It's not out of the realm of possibilities with the 49ers currently slated as 5.5-point underdogs in an exciting matchup against the Rams on Sunday.

The Saints have been led by their superb defense all season long and that unit will play a key role in Week 18. New Orleans ranks amongst the top 12 NFL teams in a number of statistical categories including yards allowed per game (322.1), points allowed per game (19.7) and takeaways (22).

While it's not exactly a win-and-you're-in situation, the Saints' playoff chances hinge solely on their ability to take care of business on the road in Week 18. It'll be interesting to see if quarterback Taysom Hill can ball out in what lines up to be the biggest game of his career.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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