5 biggest games remaining on the Saints' schedule

"Playoffs?"

Former Saints' coach Jim Mora made that line famous as the coach of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2001 season after dropping to 4-6 and being asked about his team's postseason chances. He said, "Playoffs?," incredulously and repeated it that way. The comment has stood the test of time, though Mora did not in Indy as he was fired after a 6-10 finish that season and has not coached again.

An equally incredulous response could have come from anyone with the New Orleans Saints after their 2-7 start this season. But since interim coach Darren Rizzi took over for fired head coach Dennis Allen, the Saints are 2-0. And they are in the notoriously average NFC South, where their current 4-7 mark has them only two games behind division leader Atlanta (6-5). And New Orleans has split with the Falcons.

To make the playoffs, though, the Saints likely need to finish 9-8. That would mean a 7-1 finish since their 2-7 start and 5-1 dash from here on in.

Los Angeles Rams, Sunday

To even keep the pre-conversation of the "playoffs" going, New Orleans has to beat the 5-6 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday (3 p.m. central, FOX) in the Superdome.

The Rams are 2.5-point favorites, but the Saints have clearly been rejuvenated by Rizzi. And they are coming off their best game since a seven-game losing streak that had them at 2-7. That was the 35-14 win over Cleveland last week. The Saints outscored the Browns, 21-0, in the fourth quarter, exorcising the demons of three of their losses when they blew leads late to Philadelphia, Atlanta and Carolina.

Momentum is building, and the injury-riddled Saints have gradually been getting healthier.

At New York Giants, Dec. 8

The Giants (2-9) are one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Saints used to be, and if they ride into New Jersey on a three-game winning streak, they need to make sure they do not feel too good about themselves and get overconfident. A win over the Giants would put the Saints one win away from returning to .500 at 7-7.

Washington Commanders, Dec. 15

If the Saints get to 6-7 at the Giants, the Superdome will be rocking for a return to .500 against former LSU Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. Washington and Daniels have cooled since a remarkable 7-2 start as they have lost three straight to fall to 7-5. The Commanders couldn't even beat a 3-7 Dallas team last Sunday. If they keep muddling around, the Saints will have a chance.

Las Vegas Raiders, Dec. 29

Can't see the Saints beating Green Bay (9-3) on Monday Night Football on Dec. 23, but the Vegas Raiders were only 2-9 going into their game at Kansas City (10-1) on Friday (2 p.m., PRIME). The Superdome will unquestionably have playoff fever if the Saints go into this game still having a mathematical chance of reaching the postseason.

At Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 18, TBA

If New Orleans goes into its regular season finale at 8-8 with a chance for the playoffs, there will likely be a Rizzi revival in Tampa Bay. The game date and time have not been set yet as this is a flex TV game. The regular season finale will be doubly emotional for the Saints players if playoffs are a possibility as they lost at home to the Bucs, 51-27, on Oct. 13 in an embarrassing low point of the season.