The New Orleans Saints are one of only four teams favored to qualify for the playoffs in the NFC at online sportsbooks entering the 2019-20 season. Sean Payton’s squad has the distinguished honor of being the most heavily favored of the four teams ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles who check in at -250. After having their hearts broken by the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams each of the last two seasons, is it really that safe to just assume there’s unfinished business to tend to? As competitive the NFC South looks to be this season with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and even Tampa Bay Buccaneers vastly improved or growing, I don’t foresee it being the stone cold lock oddsmakers are making this wager out to be.
Will the Saints make the Playoffs in 2019?
Yes -338
No +254
New Orleans Saints Schedule
Week 1: Texans at Saints
Week 2: Saints at Rams
Week 3: Saints at Seahawks
Week 4: Cowboys at Saints
Week 5: Buccaneers at Saints
Week 6: Saints at Jaguars
Week 7: Saints at Bears
Week 8: Cardinals at Saints
Week 9: Bye Week
Week 10: Falcons at Saints
Week 11: Saints at Buccaneers
Week 12: Panthers at Saints
Week 13: Saints at Falcons
Week 14: 49ers at Saints
Week 15: Colts at Saints
Week 16: Saints at Titans
Week 17: Saints at Panthers
New Orleans Saints Odds
New Orleans currently sits ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles ( +1135 ) and behind the reigning champion New England Patriots ( +700 ) in the pecking order for Super Bowl LIV bragging rights. They’re also heavy -156 favorites to win the NFC South and enter the year with monstrous 10.5-game season win total odds; tied with the Rams and Chiefs for the most in the NFL. This is a team that’s gone on to win 11 and 13 games each of the last two seasons after putting forth three straight campaigns with 7-9 records. The double-digit win tallies saw them win the division both times and go on to compete in the postseason.
It won’t be nearly as easy this time around. Drew Brees is certainly in the twilight of his career regardless of the fact that he logged a 32:5 TD/INT ratio a season ago. The 3,992 passing yards accumulated were the fewest thrown for since the 2005-06 season, and his production tapered off in a huge way from Week 12 on; just ask his fantasy supporters about that. On top of that, Mark Ingram is no longer in the backfield to offset the wear and tear put upon Alvin Kamara. While Latavius Murray will likely produce in that role, I’m not convinced it will be enough. Cam and the Panthers will be tough to hold down. So will Ryan and the Falcons who have a much healthier squad at their disposal. Who knows what Bruce Arians will do for the Bucs franchise? Again, cruising through the division won’t be the “Brees” it’s been the last few seasons.
In or Out?
Though it won’t be popular, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest hitting “No” on the NFL betting lines at a juicy plus-money return when it comes to the Saints making the playoffs this season. New Orleans didn’t do much to improve the roster in the offseason in my opinion, and it once again is tasked with taking on a first place schedule. Each of its first four opponents all qualified for the playoffs a year ago, and two of those matchups will take place on the road against the Rams and Seahawks. The Saints were simply fantastic away from the Superdome last season in winning seven of eight games, so some negative regression is likely to hit in that department this time around. This team is an injury to Brees away from being a lottery team next season. With the veteran entering his age-40 season, are you convinced he’ll get the same type of protection from his front wall and be able to dodge bullets like he did last season after only being sacked a total of 20 times. I sure as heck don’t!
New Orleans Saints Playoff Prediction: No +254
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