Both teams one game out of wild-card hunt heading into today's game
 

al.com: Everything Alabama

"Anytime you're playing for something, you want to have some hope and you want to look at something and be able to point to something," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I think that's important."

The Saints are still technically alive in the NFC South, two games (and a tie-breaker) behind division-leading Tampa Bay. For New Orleans to repeat as division champion, the Saints would have to win all of its remaining games (Arizona, vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 23 and at Chicago on Dec. 30) and the Buccaneers would have to lose all of their remaining games, starting with today's game at Raymond James Stadium against scandal-plagued Atlanta.