NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 05: Adam Thielen #19 of the Minnesota Vikings catches a pass over Patrick Robinson #21 of the New Orleans Saints during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 05, 2020, in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
The New Orleans Saints are a prime contender to reach the Super Bowl in 2020, but they will need to win these five games to boost their odds.
The NFC has been the tougher conference for the past few years, but one of the teams that has performed well in it consistently has been the New Orleans Saints. A quick reload after the 2017 season saw the Saints build a contender capable of winning without resorting to shootouts, a huge development in the latter stages of Drew Brees’ career.
New Orleans hasn’t found a way to win a championship in that time, however, leading to immense pressure to do so in 2020. Brees may retire after this season, so this could be the last chance the Saints have to be an elite team for a while.
Let’s take a look at the five games that the Saints simply have to win in 2020, beginning with a rematch with the squad that ended their 2019 season, the Minnesota Vikings.
5. Home: Minnesota Vikings
Losing out on a first-round bye proved to be costly to the Saints, who were upset in the Wild Card round at home by the Vikings. That game went to overtime with Kyle Rudolph catching the winning touchdown in overtime, although Saints’ fans will argue he got away with a push-off on the play.
There is a serious revenge factor in this game since New Orleans will want to get back at the Vikings for spoiling their 2019 season. Minnesota is also significantly weaker than they were last season so this is a game that the Saints need to win at home in order to build up the wins necessary to get a first-round bye.