The New Orleans Saints handled their business in Week 17, but the Seattle Seahawks weren’t able to. Seattle allowed the San Francisco 49ers to leave with a win, guaranteeing that the Saints will enter the NFC playoff standings as the third seed. That sets New Orleans up to host the Minnesota Vikings during the wild card round. The game will kick off at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 5.
This is disappointing for a few big reasons. The Saints have been hit hard with injuries on defense, having rested three starting defensive backs during their season-closing win over the Carolina Panthers (safeties Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams, and cornerback Eli Apple).