In the old days of wrestling, this would be called a "loser leaves town" match.
And although the loser of Sunday’s game between the Saints and Carolina Panthers isn’t officially eliminated from the playoffs, a defeat sure would put an even bigger dent in what seems to be already-slim playoff hopes.
Sometime around 3 p.m. Sunday, either the Saints will be 1-4 or the Panthers will be 1-5.
“I do not think it makes or breaks the season, but it is certainly important,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “I would say that both teams would expect to be much better than what their records reflect right now.”
History tells us that teams that start that slow have a hard time bouncing back to the make the playoffs. This may not be a must-win, but it’s about as close as you can get: Only 12 teams have started 1-4 and made the postseason.
But if you’re a Saints fan looking for some good news, it happened twice last season: The Houston Texans (who started 1-5) and the Kansas City Chiefs both did it.
That’s the good news for Saints fans if they happen to lose Sunday. But the bad news is the next four weeks of the schedule.
At Kansas City. Home against Seattle. Road trip to San Francisco. Home game against Denver.
There are no gimmes on that schedule. Even home games, which just yesterday seemed like guarantees, are no longer a sure thing. These Saints have lost both of their home games this season and are looking to avoid their first 0-3 start in the Dome since 1995.
But, hey, I have some more good news. Maybe.
This is a Carolina team, just eight months removed from playing in the Super Bowl, that is reeling. The Panthers have dropped three straight after their lone win over the 49ers.
Some Panthers fans have already abandoned ship: The team returned a chunk of its allotment of tickets for Sunday's game. Perhaps they weren’t sure whether Cam Newton was going to play after he missed last week’s game with a concussion, but he is expected to return Sunday.
Which version of Newton shows up could determine the outcome. Will it be Superman, who was a near unanimous pick for league MVP honors last season? Or will it be Clark Kent, who is 27th in the league in passing yards and whose 80.2 passer rating ranks 31st?
On the other sideline, which Saints team will show up? Will it be the one that should’ve won against Oakland in Week 1? Or the Week 2 version with the stellar defense that played well enough to beat the New York Giants?
Or the one that was embarrassed in that Week 3 Monday night game against the Falcons? Or the one that gutted out a win in San Diego two weeks ago?
That win gave Saints fans some hope for a season that seemed to be headed down the drain. But now a game that early in the season looked like one worth circling on the calendar has all of a sudden become one that can make or break the season.
“The most desperate team wins," Brees said. "So, if there’s not desperation, you create desperation."
Neither of these teams needs to create it.
They spent the first few weeks of the season doing that.
