Saints Move To No. 1 Seed In NFC, Control Own Destiny After Seahawks MNF Win

The Saints are exactly where they want to be.

The Seattle Seahawks topped the Minnesota Vikings 37-30 last night, lifting the New Orleans Saints to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. With their Monday Night Football victory, Seattle improved to a 10-2 record, which is also the record of the Saints and the 49ers.

You may be wondering how the Saints are the No. 1 seed if they are tied with two other NFC teams. Allow me to explain:

Three weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers and currently own the tiebreaker for first place in the NFC West. The Saints own the tiebreaker over Seattle after beating them in Week 3 (thanks, Teddy!) which means that for now, the Saints are the top seed in the NFC.

What this also means is that it no longer matters what other teams in the NFC are doing. The Saints are in the driver's seat and don't need to watch any scoreboards or hope for "help" from any other teams. All the Saints need to do is win their last four games and they'll enjoy dome-field advantage in the playoffs on their quest for Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

One of their biggest challenges will come this Sunday at noon when they face the San Francisco 49ers in one of the most highly anticipated games of the regular season. The Saints are a 3-point favorite but that's only because they are the home team. Basically, Vegas has this one matched dead even.

The Saints are the No. 1 seed on paper, but there are plenty of areas where the Saints must improve if they want to hold on to the top spot. Penalties, injuries, and onside kicks are a few that come to mind.

It won't be an easy task, but the No. 1 seeded Saints are in the driver's seat and ready to roll.