If Saints win last 2, they still need a Vikings loss or 2 Giants flops With two weeks remaining in the 2007 regular season, the formula for the Saints to extend their playing time into January remains simple, clear and unchanged: Win the next two games and hope that the Minnesota Vikings lose at least one more game or the New York Giants lose their last two. The Saints find themselves one game behind Minnesota for the sixth NFC playoff spot, behind the four division winners -- Dallas, Green Bay, Seattle and Tampa Bay -- and the Giants, who are the current front-runners for the first wild-card playoff spot by virtue of their 9-5 record. And for the first time, Coach Sean Payton admitted Monday that the Saints have actually discussed New Orleans playoff scenarios internally, and did so right after the loss to Tampa Bay two weeks ago. "I think that we brought it up even a week, week and a half, two weeks ago, about what we thought was necessary to have an opportunity to play in the postseason," Payton said. "I think you just try to tell them the truth. They're smart enough to figure out, us having to win out and play well to give ourselves a chance. There's a group of teams three weeks ago that were in that situation, and that group gets smaller each week." Detroit, Carolina, Arizona and Philadelphia, which is this week's Saints' opponent, are all 6-8. Detroit, Arizona and Philadelphia are all eliminated. Washington, with its victory Sunday night over the Giants, is 7-7 overall but 5-5 in NFC games, a critical tiebreaker in multiteam deadlocks, one game behind the Saints who are 6-4. The Vikings are 6-5 in NFC games, and the Giants are 7-5 in NFC games. It's appearing to look as if an 8-8 record won't be good enough to squeak into that last playoff spot. So for the Saints, winning out is imperative. more
