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(SportsNetwork.com) - The playoffs start early in The Big Easy on Sunday when the New Orleans Saints play host to the Atlanta Falcons in a game that will go a long way in determining who represents the downtrodden NFC South in the postseason. The Saints lead the NFLs worst division at 6-8 with two games to play but both Carolina (5-8-1) and Atlanta (5-9) remain in the mix with NOLA and the Falcons controlling their own destinies. If either the Saints or the Falcons can win out, they will win the division and host a first-round playoff game. After this contest New Orleans will close the regular season at Tampa Bay in Week 17, while Atlanta will host the Panthers. Carolina, meanwhile, entertains Johnny Manziel and Cleveland this week and needs to win their final two games and have the Saints lose once to repeat as division champions. New Orleans can clinch the South for the first time since 2011 with a victory over the Falcons and a Carolina loss to the Browns. It sets us up for no bigger game than whats coming up against Atlanta, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. We all understand where were at, Atlanta coach Mike Smith countered. We know we control our own destiny. It doesnt matter what anyone else does. The first thing we have to do is go down and play very well and win the game in New Orleans. The Saints took over first place for now thanks to an impressive 31-15 win over the stumbling Bears in Chicago on Monday night. Brees threw three touchdown passes in what was his 200th career game, completing 29-of-36 passes for 375 yards and setting an NFL record with his ninth straight season with at least 4,000 yards passing. I think theres a sense of urgency that we need to create each week, and we need to be mindful of how important that edge is to play well, Saints coach Sean Payton said. Josh Hill caught two scores, Marques Colston finished with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown and Mark Ingram ran for a late score. We were pretty balanced and able to make some plays in the passing game, said Brees. It was a great team effort. The Falcons, meanwhile, suffered their second straight tough loss against a prolific offense, losing to Pittsburgh 27-20 as LeVeon Bell scored twice and set the Steelers franchise record for yards from scrimmage. Bell did not find much running room against an uncharacteristically stingy Atlanta front, but he did reach the end zone twice among 20 carries for 47 yards. He also made five catches for 72 yards and broke Barry Fosters single- season Steelers record for yards from scrimmage with 2,042. Matt Ryan threw for 310 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Falcons, who were coming off a 43-37 shootout loss in Green Bay. Harry Douglas filled in admirably for an injured Julio Jones, making 10 catches for 131 yards. Jones, who was coming off a career-high 259 yards against the Packers, was unable to play through a hip pointer injury he suffered late in a loss to the Packers. We felt we had lots of chances to have a different outcome, said Smith. Atlanta leads the all-time series by a 47-43 margin, including a 37-34 overtime win back in September at the Georgia Dome when Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards and three TDs, and Matt Bryant booted a game- winning 52-yard field goal in the extra frame. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Brees has been the Falcons biggest nemesis ever since he came to New Orleans from San Diego back in 2006. The veteran signal caller has amassed a 7-1 mark over Atlanta in the Superdome, compiling a stellar 103.8 passer rating in those contests. Of course Atlanta is hardly the only team that has had a difficult time containing Brees, who leads NFL with 43,091 passing yards and 314 TD passes since he took over the Saints. The veteran destroyed the Bears, who rank 31st in the NFL in passing defense, on Monday night and the Falcons have the only secondary giving up more yardage than Chicago, a league-worst 292.5 yards per game. I think weve shown a couple times we can handle adversity, lets make sure we can handle success, too, Brees said. The tendency after success is to relax, and its not time to relax. Brees threw for 333 yards in the loss in Atlanta earlier this season but was outdone by Ryans Herculean performance, which may have to happen again here. Ryan has been putting up big numbers recently, tossing for 1,046 yards and eight TDs over the last three weeks but has also been throwing the game- changing pick at inopportune times. We know whats in front of us, Ryan said. We know what weve got to do. Its a playoff-type mentality. Weve got to win next week. Weve got to have the best week of practice that weve had this year and prepare as best we can. Getting Jones, perhaps the best receiver in all of football, back should help. The All-Pro is second in the NFL with 1,428 receiving yards despite missing last weeks game. Its tough when (Jones is) not in, Ryan said. Hes such a special player. New Orleans defense hasnt been much better than the Falcons this season but did show a little life in Chicago, stopping a four-game string in which they had allowed at least 400 yards. The Saints stop unit limited Jay Cutler and Co. to 278 total yards while amassing seven sacks and three interceptions. OVERALL ANALYSIS Facing a Payton-coached team in the Superdome used to foreshadow certain demise but the Saints 19-game run with the veteran coach on the sideline in NOLA ended against San Francisco on Nov. 8. Since then the Saints have lost three more in what used to be their cozy confines. Conversely they have won their only two on the road over that span. Translation: you never know what to expect with this New Orleans team. If anything, though, the Falcons are even less consistent and just dont have the horses on defense to contend with Brees. You want to be playing for a lot at the end of the season and we are right now, Brees said. No bigger game than the one coming up. Sports Network predicted outcome: Saints 27, Falcons 20 Dan Hampton Bears Jersey . Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form. Mike Ditka Bears Jersey . According to the CFL Scouting Bureaus January rankings, four of the top five Canadian prospects line-up on the offensive side of the trenches, which is good news for Bombers general manager Kyle Walters. With only one selection in the first two rounds — Walters sent his second-round pick to Saskatchewan in the days ahead of the 2013 trade deadline — the No. http://www.probearsonline.com/authentic ... rs-jersey/. Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season. Jared Allen Jersey . -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Kyle Long Jersey . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points.The Jamaican bobsled team may be headed to another Olympics. The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Olympic organizers said Saturday that Jamaica has qualified for the two-man competition at next months Sochi Games, though it remains unclear if the fledgling squad will get a chance to race. Funding is a serious problem and sled driver Winston Watts told The Associated Press on Saturday that hes trying to raise as much as $80,000 in the next couple weeks to cover travel and equipment costs. "Right now," Watts said, "were at zero." They are certainly among the worlds most storied bobsled teams, and that has little to do with results. Jamaica first competed in Olympic bobsledding in 1988 at the Calgary Games, a story that inspired the "Cool Runnings" film. For a nation lacking bobsled tradition, or snowy winters, Jamaica has often fared quite well on the international circuits. Its been 12 years since Jamaica has had a sled in the Olympics, with Watts finishing 28th at the Salt Lake City Games with Calgarys Lascelles Brown -- now a key part of Canadas national team. Brown won a medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, one where the Jamaicans were hoping to compete but were again thwarrted by funding issues.dddddddddddd Still, the 46-year-old Watts -- who called himself "retired" from sliding for nearly a decade -- has held on to hope of sliding again on the sports biggest stage. "Were pretty good," Watts said. "Were not there with the rest of the world, of course. But we if had some more sources for funding, wed have a better chance." He started the season thinking he could get a four-man sled ready for Sochi, before quickly realizing that was too expensive. His focus then shifted to the two-man sled and by racing in a number of lower-tier events at tracks in Park City, Lake Placid and Calgary in recent months, Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon piled up enough points to get into the Olympic mix. Sochi officials tweeted word Saturday that the Jamaicans were in, but the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation -- the sports governing ....... -- is not expected to confirm before Sunday at the earliest how many nations qualified for the Olympic fields. Watts said hes confident that Jamaica is qualified. "Im not a person who likes to quit," Watts said. "I put my heart into it and I know for a fact that people are going to help this team." Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '