Saints, Derek Carr still see path to playoffs: ‘This is the time to get hot’

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Derek Carr reached his right hand up above his head Wednesday afternoon.

“All of our expectations were so high,” the Saints quarterback said, gesturing to reporters. “And our expectations still should be high. Everything is still in front of us. Again, I keep saying this: This is the time to do it. This is the time to get hot. Right now.”

New Orleans is 6-7, and for all the ups and downs of a frustrating season, the Saints are in a three-way tie for first place in the NFC South with four games left, including a final two games against the Bucs and Falcons teams they’re tied with. The Saints don’t have a winning record, and yet they control their postseason destiny: If they win out, they win a division title and host a playoff game.

Before they can take advantage of those final two games, they need to win Sunday against the suddenly hot Giants, and even next week at the Rams, who have the same 6-7 record and are battling for a playoff spot themselves.

“[The last two] will be extremely, extremely important if we take care of business against the Giants,” coach Dennis Allen said Monday. “The margin for error is extremely small right now, and we need to make sure we’re taking advantage of every opportunity. So we need to focus in on the Giants and trying to get a win against those guys this week.”

New York is an unexpected challenge, going from 2-8 to winning its past three games under backup quarterback Tommy DeVito. The undrafted rookie has five touchdowns and no interceptions in those three wins, and opposing quarterbacks have combined for two touchdowns against seven interceptions in losing to the Giants. That makes this game much more difficult than it might have seemed a month ago, when the Giants were in position to challenge for the top pick in the draft.

It isn’t just DeVito — running back Saquon Barkley rushed for two touchdowns in Sunday’s win against Green Bay after entering…

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Publish date : 2023-12-14 15:33:57

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