The New Orleans Saints claimed the NFC South title back in Week 14, but the Atlanta Falcons have gotten hot and are currently sitting in the fifth slot for the NFC playoffs. If the Falcons win either of their final two games (@NO, vs. TB) they are in, while the Saints are still fighting for a first round bye. The Falcons own a head-to-head tie-breaker over the Detroit Lions, so if those two teams finish with the same record the Falcons will earn the higher seed.
A 49ers loss on Monday Night would put the Saints in a better spot for a first-round bye, but they still need help. If the 49ers finish with a better record than the Saints they obviously take the spot, but if the Saints and 49ers finished with the same record -- no matter if it's 11-5, 12-4 or 13-3 -- San Francisco would earn the No. 2 seed by virtue of a better conference record. Therefore, the Saints would need to win one more game than the 49ers to make that move to No. 2.
| CONF RK | NFC | W | L | DIV | CONF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | *Green Bay | 13 | 1 | 4-0 | 10-0 |
| 2 | *New Orleans | 11 | 3 | 3-1 | 7-3 |
| 3 | *San Francisco | 10 | 3 | 3-1 | 8-2 |
| 4 | Dallas | 8 | 6 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 9 | 5 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
| 6 | Detroit | 9 | 5 | 3-2 | 6-5 |
| Outside Looking In | |||||
| 7 | Seattle | 7 | 7 | 3-1 | 6-4 |
| 8 | Chicago | 7 | 7 | 2-2 | 6-4 |
| 9 | NY Giants | 7 | 7 | 2-3 | 4-7 |
For more on the 2011 NFL playoffs, visit the SB Nation NFL Playoff Race Stream.
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