The New Orleans Saints will try to wrap up the NFC South title and the Atlanta Falcons will try to lock down a play-off spot when the teams meet on Monday night.
The Saints (11-3) have a two-game lead over the Falcons (9-5) in the division. The Saints, who have clinched a post-season berth, would bolster their plans for a home game in the play-offs by winning in their home stadium.
The Falcons could secure a play-offs place and preserve their hopes of winning the division by beating the Saints. If the Falcons win their last two regular-season games and the Saints lose two straight, Atlanta would win the NFC South by having a better record against division teams.
"We control what we can control," said Mike Smith, the Falcons coach. "It's obvious our guys are familiar with the scenarios."
The Saints are looking to beat the San Francisco 49ers to the No 2 seed in the NFC. With that honour comes a first-round bye and home-field in the second round.
"The sky's the limit and that's where we're trying to get to," the Saints safety Roman Harper said. "Our goal is nothing less than a victory in the Super Bowl, and right now we just trying to stay focused and take it one step at a time."
The Falcons, who won on Thursday and have extra time to prepare for the Saints, saw their wild-card hopes fortified on Sunday when the Giants and Bears each lost. Smith said he will not have to talk to his players about what is on the line in New Orleans. "We're not going to change our preparation, how we prepare," he said. "We try to be as steady as we can and just continue to move forward like we have all season."
* Agencies
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
UAE athletes heading to Paris 2024
Equestrian
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); women's Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).
Cycling
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming
Men: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); women: Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m freestyle).
Athletics
Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
India cancels school-leaving examinations
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends