The New Orleans Saints
are on bye this week, but there are plenty of rooting interests in Week 8. Because the Green Bay Packers beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night, the Saints moved up to the tenth overall pick instead of No. 11, and the NFC South looks a little more winnable with a 3-4 Panthers team struggling to hold onto first place. The Saints are only a game and a half out of the division title race despite currently ranking last.Four teams are on bye this week, including the Saints; the Houston Texans, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers are also resting up. The 49ers working to improve after bringing back defensive lineman DeForest Buckner in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts, while the Texans are continuing to get wide
receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. up to speed. The Giants are feeling better about themselves after J.J. McCarthy quarterbacked them into a win in Week 7.
Here's how each game impacts the NFC South and 2027 draft order, organized using the 506 Sports broadcast maps.
CBS early window: Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
If Saints fans didn't get enough of the Steelers last week, they'll get to watch again locally. It's worth tuning in to see what the Browns are made of seeing as they're the first team New Orleans will play coming out of the bye week. This AFC North rivalry game won't impact the Saints' playoff seeding or their strength of schedule, but a Cleveland loss could expose some vulnerabilities for the black and gold to attack in Week 9. Root for Pittsburgh.
Other games to keep an eye on:
- Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills. A Ravens loss would help lower the Saints' strength of schedule in draft order tiebreakers. Root for Buffalo.
- Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts' pick is going to the New York Jets, but they have the same record as New Orleans so tiebreakers put them ahead of the Saints by four slots. Root for Indianapolis.
- Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals. The one-win Titans will pick ahead of the Saints even if they get a win, but a Bengals loss would help lower New Orleans' SOS. Root for Tennessee.
FOX single: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This game will be shown in New Orleans, most of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. It's also the only game that directly impacts the Saints in the NFC South. A Buccaneers win would introduce a two-way tie for second place (both of these teams would be 3-5, trailing the 3-4 Carolina Panthers) and give the Saints a path to sneak back in coming out of the bye week. A Falcons win would put them on top of the division at 4-4. Root for Tampa Bay.
Other games to monitor:
- Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys. The Cardinals are another team tied with the Saints at 2-5, so getting them out of that bracket would help. And it's always good to see Dallas lose. Root for Arizona.
- Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions. Both teams factor into the Saints' strength of schedule, but the Vikings' 6-0 record is doing more damage than the Lions are at 4-2. Root for Detroit.
- Las Vegas Raiders at New York Jets. The Jets share the Saints' record at 2-5 but have a marginally worse SOS (.545 against .543 for New Orleans). A Raiders loss would help maintain lower the SOS for New Orleans even further. Root for New York.
- Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams. This game is a late-afternoon kickoff but the broadcast won't be shown in the New Orleans market. The winless Chargers own the first overall pick while the Rams (whose pick will go to the Browns) would move ahead of New Orleans with a loss and a Saints win over Cleveland next week thanks to their lower SOS. Root for the Rams.
CBS late window: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
The Saints don't play either of these teams in 2026, and because it's an AFC West grudge match the result won't impact the NFC playoff picture. If you're still a Sean Payton supporter, root for Denver. If not, root for Kansas City.
- New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have a higher SOS than New Orleans (.593) and would get just their second win on the season, so they win that hypothetical tiebreaker. Root for Miami.
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders (SNF)
Washington would still pick ahead of the Saints with a win (they would be 2-4-1), and the Eagles would get out of their tie with New Orleans, a draft-order tiebreaker which they win by weaker SOS, by winning on the road here. Root for Philadelphia.
Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks (MNF)
The Seahawks are up on the Saints by two wins, but New Orleans will have to visit the Bears later this season. Chicago's 5-2 record is hurting the Saints' SOS. Root for Seattle.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Broadcast maps, who to root for during Saints' bye, NFL Week 8
