NFL Playoff Schedule: New Orleans Saints Won't Need Bye to Earn Super Bowl Bid

Every little extra boost helps this time of year, but the lack of a first-round bye is meaningless when you consider how well the New Orleans Saints are playing. 

The NFL playoff schedule is still very much a fluid entity. As of this writing, the only thing we know for sure is that the San Francisco 49ers escaped a near disaster against the St. Louis Rams and the New Orleans Saints rolled behind another Drew Brees masterpiece. 

The Niners closed out a hapless Rams team that will no doubt part with head coach Steve Spagnuolo shortly. One last show of life had the Niners sweating as the Rams nearly pulled off a late-game comeback. 

Instead, the Niners got the win and will enjoy a week off as they clinch the No. 2 playoff seed. That leaves the Saints as the No. 3 and mandates them to play an extra game to prove their mettle next weekend. 

No matter. 

The Saints are simply the hottest team out there and are unbeatable with the way Drew Brees is commanding the offense. 

New Orleans annihilated the Carolina Panthers in what was another phenomenal day for the presumed MVP, Drew Brees. The Saints quarterback threw 389 yards and five touchdowns. There was passion and poise on both sides of the ball, invoking a great deal of confidence ahead of the playoffs. 

The Saints have no railed off eight wins in a row and just scored over 120 points in the last three games. Every football team wants a breather where they can get one, but not this squad. 

When you have a hot hand like this, you hardly want to see rust play any part in playoff play. There is no reason the Saints can't continue to blast through teams on their way to a Super Bowl berth. 

This is quite simply the best team in the NFL right now, and one extra game will not change that one bit. 

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