Saints at Lions

The Saints were officially eliminated from the playoffs last week. Reggie Bush became the 17th player to be put on IR. Owner Tom Benson had surgery to remove a cancerous growth. In other words, it hasn't been a great week for the Saints. With two games left in the season, there's not much left to play for, except for maybe pride. But many Saints fans might say that the team hasn't played for pride so far, so why should they start now?

Well, the main pride factor is that they are playing the 0-14 Lions and don't want to be the first team to lose to them this year. In the 70s, the Saints bailed out the Tampa Bay Bucs to end their losing streak. The Saints don't want to be generous twice.

There also the incentive to finish the season with a winning record and 9-7 looks a whole lot better than 7-9. The Saints may also try to help Drew Brees to reach Dan Marino's passing record, but he needs to average more than 370 yards in the last two games to get that so it will be difficult.

Mainly, the Saints are playing out the stretch and young guys want to show that they belong in the lineup next year. Some players are playing for a contract next year or a free agent deal on the open market. It will be interesting to see how they approach the last two games and how the season ends. If they finish 9-7, they can feel good about the year and know that injuries and close games cost them the playoffs. A 7-9 or 8-8 would be more disappointing and would leave fans with another long offseason.

Prediction:
Saints 30
Lions 22