Left-for-dead Saints still breathing in playoff race

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints had a ceremonial burial last spring of many of the awards and mementos from their magical 2006 season, one that saw them win a division title and get within 60 minutes of the Super Bowl.

Saints fans let everybody know that their team is not out of it yet. (AP)

It was a complex funeral that included a coffin and a minister giving last rites, to show the team was ready to move forward. When they started 0-4 this season, many wondered if the Saints might be headed for the coffin, too.

Instead, they've scraped, clawed, fought and battled through some crushing injuries to find themselves at .500 with two weeks left after beating the Arizona Cardinals 31-24 Sunday at the Superdome.

Put the shovel away and quit throwing that damn dirt on top of them.

"All you can ask for now is to stay alive each week," Saints fullback Mike Karney said. "And we're alive."

Barely.

What they essentially played the past two weeks is two playoff games. They won last Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons and then ruined the Cardinals' chances of going to the playoffs in a loser-goes-home game Sunday.

The Saints players called Sunday's game a playoff game. But admit it: You have trouble classifying a Saints-Cardinals game as a playoff game -- ever.

The reality is that it was close. If the Saints fell to 6-8, which the Cardinals did, they were done. Now at 7-7, they need to beat the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears the next two weeks and then hope they get some help, as in hoping like heck the Minnesota Vikings lose.

"It's either win or go home," Saints safety Roman Harper said.

This December is much different than last year here in the Big Easy. The party isn't nearly as great. There were plenty of empty seats at the Superdome on Sunday. The top two running backs, Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, the faces of the team, are both out with season-ending knee injuries -- although there is some talk Bush could play in the playoffs if they get there -- taking away a lot of the star power.

Last season the Saints cruised to the playoffs, giving a region stung by Hurricane Katrina some hope. Now as the city continues to rebuild, the Saints' early-season failure was another shot into the fans' fragile psyches.

But it's nothing that a late-season playoff run can't change.