The New Orleans Saints went into Week 16 with a minuscule chance of making the postseason, but even that chance dried up prior to them taking the field on Monday Night Football.
For all intents and purposes the Saints' thin hopes ended with a failed 2-point conversion against the Commanders to drop to 5-9. That result meant the Saints' best possible record was 8-9 and eliminated any wild card hopes.
The only remaining playoff scenario was the Saints winning out, while the Falcons and Bucs lost all three of their remaining games. The Falcons didn't comply, with Michael Penix taking over and leading Atlanta to a 31-7 win over the lowly Giants.
The result cements a 4th consecutive season without postseason play for the Saints, the longest such skid since they went five full years without postseason play between the 2001 and 2005 seasons. That run ended in 2006, the first of the Sean Payton era. That 2005 season also marks the last time the Saints failed to win at least 7 games in the season.
New Orleans still has three games left on its schedule beginning with the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. They'll then return home for a showdown against the Raiders, then head to Tampa for a season finale against the Bucs.
