The New Orleans Saints needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they did that and then some against the division rival Atlanta Falcons.
The Saints blew past the Falcons in a 48-17 victory that led to Dennis Allen apologizing for how the game ended, but bettors who were on the Saints surely weren't apologizing after they cashed in as 3-point home favorites.
The Saints finish the season at 9-8 and could still sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard if both the Packers and Seahawks lose since the Bucs defeated the Panthers to clinch the NFC South.
While the Saints are still unlikely to reach the postseason, the numbers from their Week 18 victory were pretty as seen below.
3
That's the number of turnovers that the Falcons had on the day, which ended up costing them in the second half and allowed the Saints to take a huge lead. The game was tied at 17 at halftime, but Desmond Ridder threw an interception to open the third quarter that saw the Saints take the lead on their ensuing drive, which ended up propelling them to scoring 31 unanswered points. The final turnover came in the closing minutes in which Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Falcons backup quarterback Logan Woodside and returned to the 1-yard line, which led to the Saints faking victory formation and scoring a touchdown instead of taking a knee that caused Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to yell at Dennis Allen after the game.
4
That's the number of passing touchdowns that Derek Carr had on the day, which was a season-high number for the Saints quarterback. Carr struggled to find the end zone for much of the season, but he's now thrown 14 touchdowns in his last five games, including three games with three touchdowns or more. Carr also completed 78.6% of his passes, which marks the fourth time he's completed over 70% of his passes in the last five games, and it's safe to say that he'll be back as the Saints starting quarterback next season after a strong stretch run and could get a chance to continue his recent run of success if the Saints can sneak into the playoffs via a wildcard berth.
73
That's the number of rushing yards that Saints rookie running back Kendre Miller had on the day, which was by far the best rushing effort of his young career. Miller has missed several games this season due to injuries, but he stepped up today with Alvin Kamara out and was the Saints leading runner with 73 yards on 13 carries and also caught a pass for six yards. The highlight of Miller's day though was his first career touchdown, which was a 3-yard touchdown plunge that capped off a long drive which began in the first quarter and ended in the second quarter. Miller's score saw the Saints tied things up at 14, and they never trailed again the rest of the game.