The New Orleans Saints' loss to the Los Angeles Rams doesn't mathematically eliminate the Saints from playoff contention, but it certainly felt impossible.
The Saints are currently four games behind the Washington Commanders, who hold the final wild card spot. New Orleans would have to win four of its last five games, including a win against the Commanders, and hope Washington loses four of its last five to catch up with them. Then the Saints have to hope that none of the other teams in front of them manage to win nine.
The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied at the top of the division with six wins. That's a two-game lead over the Saints and New Orleans doesn't have a tiebreaker against either team. Had New Orleans beat the Rams, they would be just one game behind and we would be having a different conversation.
Most importantly, the loss to the Rams left hope for the Saints as a team back to where it was before their two-game winning streak. Some of the same deficiencies reappeared. The schedule isn't difficult, but games against the Commanders and Packers would be crucial to gaining ground on the division leaders.
With the loss to the Rams, all of those hopes went from unlikely to impossible.
