The New Orleans Saints held up their end of the bargain, it didn't matter. All three results the Saints needed in Week 18 went the wrong way.
The first ruled out the division despite a 48-17 win over the Falcons to get to 9-8. The Saints needed the Bucs to lose to the Panthers, and despite Carolina having multiple chances to score they were shut out 9-0. Tampa also finished 9-8, but won the tiebreaker.
The second path was still available to grab the final wild card slot, but that required the Bears to beat the Packers and the Cardinals to beat the Seahawks. Both games were tight throughout. The Bears trailed by one score well into the 4th quarter but were unable to put points on the board despite multiple opportunities, ultimately losing 17-9. The Cardinals led for much of the final frame, but lost 21-20 on a last-second field goal. That latter result would've been particularly brutal had the Saints not already been eliminated.
The results mean the Bucs will enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed and host the Eagles, while the Packers will travel to face the Cowboys in the wild card round.
Next up for the Saints will be evaluations and difficult questions regarding staff and personnel changes, a mess of restructures, scouting and the lot leading up to the 2024 NFL draft, in which the Saints will select at No. 14 overall.
