The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints got off to one of NFL's best starts at 6-1. Just two weeks ago, they were contending to host a playoff game. Now it's questionable whether they'll even make the postseason.

Because of back-to-back losses to the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals - teams that had four victories between them before playing the Saints - New Orleans (9-6) needs help to make the playoffs.

"I don't know what happened," offensive tackle Spencer Folau said following the Saints' 20-13 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. "This was the worst game ever. What can I say? Who cares if we go to the playoffs? We just need to beat Carolina."

The Saints must not only beat the visiting Panthers on Sunday, they must hope that the Atlanta Falcons (9-5-1) or the New York Giants (9-6) lose. The Giants are at home against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday and the Falcons visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

New Orleans could explain their loss to Minnesota, which had already shown signs of resurgence. But losing to Cincinnati, which had beaten only the expansion Texans before taking on the Saints, was much harder to justify.

"We lost to the damn Bengals," said Saints guard LeCharles Bentley. "That's like if I were still at Ohio State and we lost to Akron. That's not supposed to happen."

Against the Bengals, the Saints converted just two third downs and had only 210 total yards, including a season-low 36 yards rushing. After gaining 158 yards and eight first downs in the first quarter, the Saints were held to 52 yards and three first downs in the final three quarters.

"The Bengals, please," wide receiver Joe Horn said. "I question sometimes if we need to go to the playoffs. I'm not watching to see who wins or loses next week. We shouldn't have let it to get to this point, where we need to watch and see who loses."

The Saints have lost five of their last seven games. Last year, they finished 7-9 after losing their last four, by a combined score of 160-52.

"This is nothing like last year at all," coach Jim Haslett said. "Our guys played hard. They were trying to win the game. It's not like we gave up 40 points or anything. The guys played hard, we just didn't execute very well."

Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks completed 16 of 38 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown. He was 11-of-14 in the first quarter for 154 yards. In the second half, he was just 2-of-14 for 13 yards, and his last 11 passes were incomplete.

Running back Deuce McAllister had 26 yards rushing on 15 carries, and he didn't gain a single yard in the fourth quarter.

"If you don't execute, you're going to lose no matter what the other team's record is," McAllister said.

Haslett will watch the Giants-Eagles game on Saturday, but he's not thinking about the playoffs.

"You know what? I'm not going to worry about the playoffs," Haslett said. "I think the most important thing is that our team goes out and tries to win a game. If we win and make the playoffs, fine. If we don't, that's something we will have to deal with."

Return to Bengals front page...