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    Saints Path to Playoffs Clear

    3 Takeaways from the Saints Crucial Victory Over Panthers

    Three takeaways from the New Orleans Saints victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.

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    New Orleans Saints
    New Orleans Saints
    Carolina Panthers
    Carolina Panthers

    On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints earned a crucial victory for their playoff hopes by defeating the Carolina Panthers 18-10. In the Week 17 matchup, the Black and Gold saw the return of quarterback Taysom Hill, who missed Week 16 after being placed on the reserve/COVID list. Hill led the Saints in passing yards (222) and rushing yards (45) in the NFC South Battle and tossed the Saints' only touchdown to Alvin Kamara in the fourth quarter.

    The victory allowed the Saints to make the playoffs. New Orleans would clinch the final NFC Wild Card spot by defeating the Falcons and a Los Angeles Rams victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

    The Three Takeaways From Sunday afternoon's victory...

    Cameron Jordan and the Saints D-Line Are Hot at the Perfect Time

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    2022 started the same way 2021 ended for Cameron Jordan, with sacks. Jordan, who recently surpassed 100 career sacks, collected another 3.5 sacks on Sunday, bringing his total to 11.5 sacks on the season. When asked about his success this season, the 11-year NFL veteran quickly pointed to his fellow defensive line teammates.

    "David Onyemata comes back we start eating, Marcus [Davenport] comes back we start eating. When my boys is healthy we ride... It starts with the D-line. We stop the run, we have some fun, everybody knows the rules."

    Cameron Jordan Following the Saints win on Sunday against Carolina.

    New Orleans' defense as a whole has kept the Saints in the playoff hunt, but the defensive line coming to life in recent weeks should excite the Who Dat Nation. The Black and Gold remain in the Top 5 defenses against the run this season but being able to pressure the quarterback with just four is proving to be special for the Saints, who have kept teams to under 10 points in three of the last four weeks.

    New Orleans battles a struggling Atlanta Falcons squad led by a familiar foe, Matt Ryan. And no player has sacked a single quarterback more in an NFL career than Cameron Jordan has sacked Matt Ryan. Falcons fans, watch out. With a hot Saints defense in a must-win situation, Ryan could be under pressure all afternoon.

    Sunday was Taysom Hill's Best Passing Performance of the Season

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    Over the past few weeks, the New Orleans Saints' recipe for success has been running the ball and playing strong defense for 60 consecutive minutes. Hill has not been asked to do much with his arm but rather the part of his game that makes him unique: his legs. Tie in his "Mallet Finger" injury and one would imagine Hill's passing efficiency would dwindle and become non-existent.

    However, Hill pieced together his best passing performance of the season. In a game in which the Saints' offense could not get anything going offensively in the first half, the duo of Hill and Callaway brought the Saints life in a two-minute drill to bring the Saints within one at the half.

    Hill finished with a season's best passer rating as a starter and gave the Saints a dimension of their offense missing since Jameis Winston's injury. Hill advances to 6-2 as an NFL starting quarterback with the victory.

    Playoffs in Sight, Another NFC South Victory, and Some Help

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    After a season filled with adversity, New Orleans finds themselves just two results away from a trip to the 2022 NFC Playoffs. With the victory over the Panthers, the Saints' path to the postseason becomes abundantly clear. Defeat the Atlanta Falcons and see the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Los Angeles Rams.

    To see the Black and Gold fighting for a playoff spot is quite remarkable. Last week, New Orleans set a new NFL record by starting 57 different players during the 2021-22 season. Combine that with Hurricane Ida, COVID Outbreak, missing starters at nearly every position, and many would assume this would be a team eliminated from playoff contention a while ago.

    However, this Saints team has rolled with the punches, played stifling defense, scored when needed, and stayed together. Now they find themselves a win and a 49ers loss from a playoff berth. Who would have thought?

    For all the latest New Orleans Saints News & Rumors follow:

    The Saints News Network at www.Si.com/NFL/ Saints

    Follow Saints News Network’s Writer, Brendan Boylan, on Twitter & Instagram at @btboylan.

    Continue to follow all Saints’ coverage on Social Media with Saints News Network at @SaintsNews on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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