Saints can earn playoff bye with win, loss by 49ers or Packers

Saints (12-3) at Panthers (5-10)

1 p.m. ET | Fox

Matchup rating: 53.6 | Spread: NO -13 (46.5)

What to watch for: Can Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey get the 67 receiving yards and 39 rushing yards needed to become the first player in NFL history to have 1,400 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving in the same season? -- David Newton

Bold prediction: Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan will get 2.5 sacks to reach 17 on the season -- which would give him a $1 million contract escalator and one final push for some NFL Defensive Player of the Year votes. -- Mike Triplett

Stat to know: New Orleans receiver Michael Thomas is 112 receiving yards shy of 1,800 for the season. He'd be only the fifth player in NFL history to reach the mark in a season (Jerry Rice in 1995, Calvin Johnson in 2012, Julio Jones in 2015 and Antonio Brown in 2015).

What's at stake: The Saints can clinch a first-round bye with a win and a loss by either the 49ers or Packers, or by victories by the Packers and Seahawks. To get the No. 1 seed, the Saints need a win, along with losses by the 49ers and Packers. Otherwise, they will be the No. 3 seed. FPI projects the Panthers to lose and get the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Betting nugget: This is the third straight season New Orleans has clinched a playoff spot before Week 17. Each of the past two seasons, it lost outright in Week 17 as a division favorite of at least six points. Read more.

Triplett's pick: Saints 26, Panthers 20

Newton's pick: Saints 38, Panthers 9

FPI prediction: NO, 77.4% (by an average of 10.0 points)