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The New Orleans Saints have earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

With a 31-28 come-from-behind victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the Saints improved to 13-2 and clinched the top seed in the NFC, earning a first-round bye, home-field advantage and a chance to rest their starters in Week 17.

The Saints trailed for most of the fourth quarter before a 2-yard touchdown catch by Michael Thomas gave them a lead with 1:25 remaining.

The Saints defense made a huge stop after that touchdown. The Steelers drove to the New Orleans 42 with 41 seconds left, but Sheldon Rankins forced a fumble by wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. When Demario Davis recovered for the Saints, he sealed the victory.



What went right: Things went well for the Saints for most of the first half as they overcame an early deficit to jump ahead 14-6 in the second quarter.

Alvin Kamara had a phenomenal game with 105 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on just 11 touches. Thomas had a big game with 11 catches for 109 yards.

Defensively, the Saints made timely plays and did well to limit the run, as usual. Vonn Bell led the Saints with 10 tackles, and linebackers Alex Anzalone and Demario Davis both had sacks.

The Saints also stopped a fake punt by the Steelers to force a turnover on downs in the fourth quarter.

What went wrong: The Saints could not cover Antonio Brown in the second half as he scored two touchdowns and created several big plays after the break. He finished with 14 catches for 185 yards.

Wil Lutz had a 50-yard field goal blocked in the fourth quarter, which would’ve cut the Saints’ deficit to 28-27 with 6:13 remaining.

Taysom Hill threw a duck in the first quarter when he tried connecting with Ted Ginn Jr. on a deep pass in the first quarter, and Steelers safety Sean Davis picked it off easily, ending what looked like a promising opening drive for the Saints.

Injuries played a role, but Saints offensive line had some rare struggles as the team averaged 3.2 yards per carry and gave up two sacks and more pressures.

Player of the game: Kamara, but Brown would’ve been an easy pick had the Steelers won.

In case you missed it: Multiple Saints players etched their names in the franchise record books on Sunday. Running back Mark Ingram broke Deuce McAllister’s record for career rushing touchdowns with his 50th on Sunday.

Lutz made his 26th consecutive field goal, breaking Morten Andersen’s record of 25 from 1992-93.

NOLA

K Major

TGinn Jr ... clutch catches today.

Clutch.

Cruize

- Dome Field Advantage!
- Incredible 13-2 with their schedule.
- The refs played too big a role today. Although I agreed with most.
- Peat was big time for taking snaps at three positions.
- Thomas beasted.
- Clapp made key blocks on Kamara's TD's.
- Ginn with big catches.
- Kirkwood with a big drop. Don't think it will happen again.
- TE's just aren't getting it done.
- Hopefully Armstead missing was precautionary. Need him.

- Pressure was mostly lacking today.
- Lattimore got ate up by one of the best.
- Soft and flat in the 3rd quarter.
- Apple competes.
- PJ with some good plays. I think he would be a great safety.
- It may be scheme, but Williams is never around the ball.
- Coleman is an in the box guy. Big play today. Just can't cover anymore.
- Rest and heal up. The road ahead is going to be tough.

blackangold

That’s what normal WR/TEs do, we are just used to seeing them dropped if it’s not thrown at MT.

As for my thoughts on the game...
Defense was dominated today, Cam Jordan looks like a fool for running his mouth. Hard to say if it was bad coverage or poor play calling, but one thing I know is that Ben played a perfect game and we let him do it. Next to no pressure for the guy, and when there was pressure he flushed out of the pocket easily and had all day. Ben is one of the best passers when he breaks out of the pocket or extends the play, and our lack of pressure allowed this all day. The only pressure came from blitzing LBs and we often got beat when doing that.

- nice to have Ginn back
- #64 needs to be cut
- where is Davenport?
- Marcus Williams who?
- Dennis Allen got worked this week by a simple offensive concept
- Kamara still has the juice
- Refs blow a ton of calls on both sides
- Apple played better than Lattimore

If our D line plays this way in the play offs we’ll be in trouble. If we don’t get healthy on our O line it’s going to be a quick run..

The Saints are 0-42 when running the ball less than 15 times in a game.

ChrisXVI

The Steelers quite possibly have the best O-Line in the league... Let’s cut our D-Line some slack. They aren’t super human. They got good pressure.

It looks like we’re making our Super Bowl run with Peat at LT and Clapp/Tom at LG.

Saintsfan4ever

game mvp: yellow flag

SmashMouth

SmashMouth

K Major

B&G,

Go back and re watch the tape. He gave the offense the ability to stretch the field. Did you notice how the safeties could not sit inside the box? They weren't able to cheat on those routes.

Crossing patterns ? check.
Slant patterns ? check
In and out routes ? check

He is soooo much more valuable than just catching a pass. The guy performed like an experienced vet at WR.

SmashMouth