Week 16 MNF Game Thread: Dolphins at Saints

NFL: Preseason-Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints — Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

A pair of 7-7 teams face off today with the loser likely out of the postseason picture.

Tonight, week 16 in the NFL comes to a close as two teams with .500 records meet with playoff hopes very much on the line. The New Orleans Saints come in off a big upset victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday night, but tonight’s game will take place without their top three quarterbacks.

Jameis Winston has a torn ACL and has not played in months, but Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemien both landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week. That leaves rookie fourth-round pick Ian Book to start against the Miami Dolphins, who come in on a six-game winning streak.

That run has brought the Dolphins to a 7-7 record as well, leaving them with a slim chance of finding their way into the postseason. A loss to New Orleans all but knocks out the Dolphins, with their chances of making the postseason dropping to just 4% according to 538. A win jumps their playoff odds to 32%.

For New Orleans, a loss still gives them a 34% chance of earning a Wild Card spot in the NFC, but a win jumps them all the way up to 74%. That would put them in a three-way tie with San Francisco and Philadelphia for the 6 and 7 seeds, and even though New Orleans would be third in that tiebreaker, they have a more advantageous schedule in the final two weeks than those other two teams.

Tune in tonight for this significant contest, and join us here throughout the game to discuss.