Saints seek top NFC seed, while Steelers eye division title
NEW ORLEANS (AP) >> While Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan stressed that New Orleans doesn’t fear going on the road in the playoffs, he readily acknowledged the advantages of staying in the Superdome.
New Orleans (12-2) can lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a victory over visiting Pittsburgh (85-1) on Sunday.
“That would be huge,” said Jordan, referencing what he calls “dome-field advantage.”
The Saints did fine on the road this season, going 7-1. They won’t finish any better in the Superdome, where they are 5-1 with two regular- season home games left. But New Orleans’ offense generally has been better at home, where Drew Brees’ pre- snap instructions — and center Max Unger’s line calls — are easier for teammates to hear. The Saints have averaged about 38 points at home, but their road scoring average dipped about nine points below that after three straight road games in which they were held to 28 or less in each game and to 12 or fewer points twice.
“It’s been almost a month since we’ve been at the dome, so it’ll be nice to be back in there,” Brees said. “Obviously we’ve got a lot going for us right now — a lot at stake.”
In reality, the Saints don’t have that much riding on Sunday’s game — certainly not as much as the Steelers, who could still win the AFC North but haven’t clinched a playoff berth yet. New Orleans already has won a second straight NFC South crown and will finish as a top seed even if it splits its next two games. But from the standpoint of offensive production, playoff history and promoting optimal health, the Saints know they’d be best served by beating Pittsburgh.
In franchise history, the Saints are 1-7 in playoff games away from the Superdome. Since coach Sean Payton and Brees arrived in 2006, the Saints have not lost any of their five home playoff games. The one season they won the Super Bowl, they were the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
In fact, no Super Bowl participant has won a single road playoff game since the 2012 Baltimore Ravens won at Denver and New England en route to their title-winning tilt with San Francisco in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, key Saints players could get as much as two weeks rest — the regular-season finale and the playoff bye — if New Orleans wins this week.
“Rest is much needed to get our bodies right,” Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore said. “Take a week, or two (off) if we clinch it this week. Hopefully rest the starters for the last game.”
The Steelers can’t worry about rest — not even after improving their postseason outlook with a victory over New England last week.
“We just want to get into the playoffs,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “It doesn’t matter how you get in, we just want to get in. Obviously, the first and second seed you would like, but I don’t think we can get that now. So, let’s just find a way to get in.”
Some other prominent story lines surround the Steelers’ visit to the Superdome:
BOWING UP Despite a significant slowdown offensively during their past three games, the Saints went 2-1 during that stretch because of strong defensive play.