A Week 16 matchup between two teams with losing records was an odd choice to be flexed from a 1 p.m. kickoff into a 4:05 p.m. one, but a game against the New Orleans Saints would have been an important one for the Jacksonville Jaguars if the team hadn't dropped a game to the Atlanta Falcons one week prior.
Jaguars vs. Saints 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Jaguars and Saints have strong offenses, but have two of the NFL’s worst defenses, setting up for a high-scoring shootout.
Instead, by the time it's kickoff on Sunday for the Jaguars and Saints, both teams may be eliminated from the playoffs. New Orleans has been out of the race for a long time, but if the Houston Texans manage to beat the Tennessee Titans in the early slate of games, it would be the end of the road for Jacksonville as well.
However, if the Titans manage to pull off the win with Zach Mettenberger, the Jaguars could still be in business despite a 5-9 record entering Week 16. The playoff scenario for Jacksonville is simple: Win the last two games of the season against the Saints and the Houston Texans, and hope the Titans can beat the Texans and Indianapolis Colts to finish the year.
Neither the Saints nor the Texans present challenges that the Jaguars shouldn't have a strong chance against, but Jacksonville has also proven capable of losing any matchup, dropping games to the Chargers, Titans and Falcons in the last four weeks.
For the Saints, the game could be the last in New Orleans for Sean Payton, who has been the subject of plenty of rumors, although he has denied he has any intention of leaving the team. It could also round out Drew Brees' time with the Saints, although the quarterback is dealing with a plantar fascia tear that had him questionable for action against the Jaguars.
The biggest concern for the Saints though, will be the team’s ability to stop the Jaguars offense. The New Orleans defense hasn’t done a good job of stopping anybody in 2015, and leads the NFL in points allowed.
Jacksonville's offense has improved as the year has gone on, with Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson playing their best football down the stretch. After struggling with interceptions early in the year, Bortles has racked up 11 touchdowns with just two interceptions in the last four weeks and Robinson has set the franchise record for touchdown receptions with 13 through the first 14 games of the season.
The bigger problem for Jacksonville has been its lack of defensive pressure. The Saints are one of only two teams that have allowed more points than the Jaguars, who will have 2015 first-round pick Dante Fowler, Jr. added to the defensive line in 2016 after he suffered an ACL tear in the summer.
Sunday is only the sixth-ever matchup between the Jaguars and Saints, with New Orleans earning wins in three of the first five games. The Saints won the last meeting in 2011, 23-10, as rookie Blaine Gabbert completed just 16 of 42 passes against the New Orleans secondary, while Drew Brees carved up the Jaguars to the tune of 351 passing yards.
How to watch
When: 4:05 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
TV: CBS
Announcers: Andrew Catalon, Steve Tasker, Steve Beuerlein
Online: NFL Game Pass
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