San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints Race for NFC's No. 2 Seed

At 10-2, the San Francisco 49ers have clinched the NFC West crown, and now have set their sights on claiming the No. 2 seed in this year's playoffs.

Behind a stout defense and improved play by Alex Smith at QB, the Niners have taken the league by storm and surprised everyone with their play. Jim Harbaugh has brought a winning attitude to San Francisco that has not surfaced since the 1990s.

With all that being said, the Niners are not guaranteed the second seed in the NFC. Even though they play three NFC West opponents in the final four weeks of the season (the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams), the New Orleans Saints could still swoop in to steal the No. 2 seed.

Not only does San Francisco have to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, which promises to be a tough game, but the games against the rest of the putrid NFC West take place away from Candlestick Park.

Anything can happen on the road. Just ask the Saints or the Baltimore Ravens; the former lost to the Rams and the latter lost to the Seahawks on the road.

Assuming the Steelers do their part and defeat the 49ers on Monday night in 10 days, the Niners would only need to lose one game against the three division foes. Because San Fran has the tie-breaker over New Orleans (record against NFC opponents), the Saints have to win out and hope for a 12-4 record from Harbaugh and the Niners.

I realize the black and gold still need to play their games, but if they can beat the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings in back-to-back weeks, they should be able to close the season with two home wins versus division rivals.

Road games have been the Saints' biggest issue this year, including a loss to the two-win Rams team in the Edward Jones Dome (the Rams were winless prior to the Saints' match up).

The games certainly will not be easy. In fact, the Carolina Panthers, the Saints' week 17 opponents, have done relatively well in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (3-2 since Payton became head coach).

Defeating the Atlanta Falcons when they travel to New Orleans will be difficult for the Saints too, but a 13-3 record is more than attainable.

The Saints will have to play well if they want to attain a "bye" and play host to a team in the second week of the postseason. Those feats rarely come easily, so sit back and enjoy the remaining four weeks of the regular season.