New Orleans Saints facing make-or-break game against struggling Browns

Last Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, the New Orleans Saints earned a classic " interim head coach bump " win in Darren Rizzi's debut to snap their seven-game losing streak. This Sunday, they'll be playing to gauge whether or not their 2024 season can be salvaged. The home tilt against the 2-7 Cleveland Browns seems like a favorable one for the Saints, even if they are one-point dogs .

If they can win it, then -- don't look now -- there's a realistic chance they could still win the NFC South. Currently, the Falcons sit three games ahead of the Saints at 6-4. However, Atlanta's schedule does them no favors as their next three games are against teams with records of .

500 or better. On Sunday they're on the road against the 5-5 Denver Broncos, and then following their Week 12 bye they'll host the 6-3 L.A.

Chargers and visit the 7-2 Minnesota Vikings. The Saints, meanwhile, have three sub-.500 teams as their next opponents.

They will also be off in Week 12 following the Browns game, then they'll stay home to play the 4-5 L.A. Rams and visit the 2-8 New York Giants after that.

If -- and it's a big if -- the Saints win all three of those games while the Falcons lose all three, both teams would be 6-7 heading into the stretch run. Atlanta's schedule gets a bit easier by that point while the Saints' gets harder, but the momentum could be enough to carry them. There is also the factor of the 4-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers remaining in the mix.

However, despite winning the NFC South in 2023 and starting off strong this year, they are reeling with four straight losses. Until they can stop the bleeding, the Saints have to be viewed as the team with more life to pose a threat to Atlanta. Whether or not the Saints will have that opportunity will depend on Sunday.

It's not uncommon for a team to play with some extra fire in its first game with an interim coach, but actually mounting a charge to revive its season is much harder. If the Saints lose to the Browns, they can kiss their slim playoff hopes goodbye..