In Flawed Playoff System, Saints Worthy of Hosting If They Win NFC South

The rules are the rules, and the NFC South is simply playing by the NFL's rules.

The New Orleans Saints currently own the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs by default. NFL rules stipulate that a division winner playing during Wild Card Weekend earns an extra home game. That team's overall record is inconsequential.

While the validity of the Saints potentially hosting a playoff contest continues to be discussed, Sean Payton's 6-8 squad has two games to prove itself.

Even if the Saints finish below .500 overall and still claim an NFC South crown, they'll be more than worthy of hosting that first playoff game. In the last 10 years, five teams with an 8-8 record or worse made the playoffs. The Saints compare favorably to all of them:

Teams	Year	Record	Total Offense	YPG	Total defense	YPG
Saints*	2014	6-8	2nd	422.6	31st	390.1
Broncos	2011	8-8	23rd	316.6	20th	357.8
Seahawks	2010	7-9	28th	297.8	27th	368.6
Chargers	2008	8-8	11th	349.0	25th	349.9
Giants	2006	8-8	14th	325.9	25th	342.4
Rams	2004	8-8	6th	367.3	17th	334.6

The argument surrounding playoff restructuring is usually built around teams that deserved a place among the other top squads in their conference, but they're left out due to a technicality.

This season, for example, the 9-5 Philadelphia Eagles wouldn't make the playoffs based on current standing because the NFL mandates a division champion—even with an inferior record—receives an automatic berth and a home game in the first round.

Here is the dirty little secret about these teams perceived as unworthy of making the playoffs:  Those five previously mentioned teams that didn't finish better than 8-8 in the past decade are 4-1 overall in the first round of the playoffs.

Once the regular season is over and the postseason begins, the slate is wiped clean. Previous records no longer matter.

The Saints already proved they can play with some of the league's best teams this season. While their record isn't very good (2-4) against potential playoff teams, the Saints' victories against the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers were extremely impressive.

Offensively, the Saints can go shot for shot with any team in the NFL—even the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers.

Drew Brees' physical skill set may be diminishing slightly, but he's still one of the NFL's most accurate and deadly passers. The Chicago Bears found this out firsthand during Monday Night Football when Brees completed 29 of his 36 passes.

The 35-year-old quarterback was even better against Green Bay, when he threw only five incomplete passes.

As long as Brees is behind center, the Saints have a chance. Neither the Eagles nor the San Francisco 49ers, who are both on the outside of the playoffs looking in at the moment, can present the same level of quarterback play or offensive firepower as the Saints.

This provides New Orleans with an advantage that none of the previous "unworthy" playoff teams possessed.

For all the problems the Saints have had this season on defense, the offense continues to carry the franchise. However, a promising performance against the drowning Bears proved to be a glimmer of hope on the opposite side of the football.

After the Saints' 41-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers two weeks ago, Payton and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan decided drastic measures needed to be taken on that side of the football.

Players were benched. New schemes were employed. And the Bears were overcome by an onslaught of pressure brought on by the mad man with the flowing white locks.

Brian Kersey/Getty Images

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was sacked seven times Monday night. The pressure was applied from every angle the Saints could manufacture.

An aggressive approach on both sides of the football can build momentum for the final two games of the regular season and possibility into the postseason.

New Orleans still has an opportunity to finish this season 8-8 overall. The team holds its destiny in its hands. If they win out, the Saints are playoff-bound.

But this weekend's contest will be particularly difficult. The Atlanta Falcons come to town, and Mike Smith's squad has been very good against division opponents this season, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated:

With that said, this is the perfect opportunity for the Saints to prove themselves as the clear-cut best team in the division.

The Falcons held a piece of the division lead for weeks prior to last weekend's loss to the Steelers. It won't be an easy task, though. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is playing at a very high level, and Atlanta has scored at least 20 points in the past four games.

The Falcons can move the football. The Saints' revamped defense will have to step up for a second straight week.

If the Saints can capture a second victory in a row with only the 2-12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers remaining, they'll be playing as well as any team in the NFL.

Momentum can be a huge factor during a playoff run. Teams like the Saints, who struggled throughout the season, build confidence with a late-season winning streak. It can make them very dangerous once the second season begins.

The 49ers, for example, have lost three straight games. Philadelphia dropped its last two. Their records may be better, but it doesn't necessarily equate to being a better overall team at this moment.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

And the Saints understand as well as anyone what it's like to face a dangerous and underrated team in the first round of the playoffs. It was the Saints who lost to those aforementioned 7-9 Seahawks in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch provided one of the NFL's most memorable moments when he ran through, over and past the Saints defense as "Beast Mode" was born.

Entering the contest, the Saints were considered the overwhelming favorites, yet they weren't the better team on that particular day. Coincidentally, the Saints would host the Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs if the games started today.

There is still plenty of work to be done for the Saints to earn their spot as the NFC South champions. When they do so, it will be a well-deserved honor worthy of hosting a playoff game.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.