New Orleans Breakers Playoff Scenarios. How Do They Get In?

Ethen Meyers • June 14, 2023

        The New Orleans Breakers are on the verge of turning a loss streak into an equal win streak. They started the season red hot on both sides of the ball jumping out to a 4-0 record, and then turnovers happened. The last two weeks those turnovers seemingly are being corrected, and their dominant performance 31-3 against the division opponent gave hope that they are getting back on track at the right time. Had they dropped either of the last two games, the playoff picture would be much harder to navigate. The Breakers sit in a spot that as a team you can only ask for, win and get in, but what if they don't win? Let's take a look at the other ways they can sneak in, but before we go there, here is the Seeding Tiebreakers for the USFL:

  1. Head-to-Head.
  2. Best division record.
  3. Strength of wins (Based on W-L records of opponents.).
  4. Highest points across season.
  5. Most touchdown across season.
  6. Coin toss.

        If you would like a tl;dr (too long, didn't read) of this, scroll down to the bottom for a quick recap!

Breakers Win.

        It is the most simple option, but not always the possible one. There are 4 teams who could win and still miss the playoffs by one game, which feels crazy to say but the North and their abysmal records really lined it up to be way open. For the Breakers? It doesn't matter. They win, they get in. It is the most simple path to the playoffs, and as an added bonus based on seeding, they could even steal the #1 spot from the Birmingham Stallions. If the Breakers beat the Gamblers and the Showboats beat the Stallions, New Orleans will take the #1 seed in the South, and the league. The first tie breaker would be head to head, which is split. The next goes to division, where the Breakers would hold a 1 game advantage over the Stallions and take the division title. There is currently no benefit of being the 1 seed outside of bragging rights, but pride is one hell of a drug.


Breakers lose, but Showboats lose?

        If the Breakers lose, it puts things a little muddy. In this scenario let's assume the Showboats also lose. That gives the Breakers and the Gamblers a tie. Breaking down the tie rules for the USFL the first tiebreaker is head to head, which is again split between the Breakers and Gamblers if the Breakers lose. Next, we would use division record, which would also be a tie.

        Now we are to strength of wins, which gets a little complicated but I won't bore you with the math. We cannot figure this out completely, as the season is not over but we can at least figure out if there is an advantage. For the scenario we will use the Breakers and Showboats losing. Breakers wins as follows; Maulers 3-6, Gamblers 6-4, Stallions 8-2, Generals 3-6, Panthers 3-6, Showboats 5-5. Gamblers wins as follows; Showboats 5-5, Stars 4-5, Stallions 8-2, Generals 3-6, Maulers 3-6, Breakers 6-4. That would leave the Breakers with a win strength record of 28-29 and the Gamblers with a win strength record of 29-28. The win the Gamblers have over the Stars compared to our win over the Panthers would give the Gamblers the win and the #2 seed, eliminating the Breakers from the playoffs here, however, that is only if the Stars beat the Panthers. If the Panthers win, it goes to #4, highest point total across the season. Before Week 10 The Breakers are at 220, and the Gamblers at 213 so if the Breakers do lose by more than 7, it goes to the Gamblers.

        But what if they lose by 7 exactly? I am glad you asked, lets jump into number 4 in the tiebreakers, most touchdowns. This does not specify any side of the ball, so we will assume it is across all facets of the game. The Breakers have 12 passing, 12 rushing, and 1 interception returned for a touchdown, the Gamblers have 9 passing and 16 rushing. Breakers 24, Gamblers 25. The Breakers Lose, Showboats lose is not looking great. In some weird turn of events the Gamblers could score 5 field goals only, and Breakers score a touchdown and go for 2. This would be a touchdown tie, and a loss by 7 exactly, which would go to a coin toss for the playoff berth. While the Breakers could lose by 6, and sneak in, or have the funky touchdown field goal dance, this is definitely not ideal as if we are aware of this, you can assume both coaches would be aware to and doing their best to make whatever needs to happen, happen.


Breaks Lose, Showboats win?

        This dives into tiebreakers again, a 3 way tie between the Breakers, Gamblers, and Showboats. We already slightly know where the Breakers and Gamblers sit from our previous scenario, but does adding the Showboats to the tie change anything? Starting with division, 3 way tie. Head to head, a 3 way tie. Great, we are back at math.  As a reminder, Breakers lose and Showboats win in this scenario make no changes to win strength for Breakers or Gamblers since it is just a win/loss swap for teams they beat. Breakers, 28-29 and Gamblers 29-28 which eliminates the Breakers, but the Panthers can still beat the Stars to make this a tie again at 30-28 between the Breakers and Gamblers. Let's see how the Showboats did win strength wise why don't we? Showboats wins as follows; Panthers 3-6, Breakers 6-4, Maulers 3-6, Gamblers 6-4, Generals 3-6, Stallions 7-3. This leaves the Show boats a win strength record of 28-29. Stars win? You guessed it. 3 way tie again.


        On to the next one, highest points. Heading into Week 10 Breakers are at 220, Gamblers are at 213, and the Showboats at 170. Again, in this scenario Breakers cannot lose by more than 7, and the Showboats need to score 50+ points for a good chance, let's assume the Showboats do not accomplish this (mainly because they would need 50 to TIE the Breakers and since the return of the USFL no team has surpassed 50 points in a game.) and it comes down to the Breakers and the Gamblers again. We revert back to the Breakers only losing by 6 and getting in, or losing by 7 exactly with a touchdown tie, or lose by 7 or more and be eliminated.

Recap? Recap.

        There are different ways for the Breakers to get in, but I will do a tl;dr (too long, didn't read) for anyone curious! I will number them from most ideal to least ideal.

  1. Breakers win, Stallions Lose. #1 seed belongs to Breakers, Stallions get #2.
  2. Breakers win, Stallions Win. #1 seed belongs to Stallions, Breakers get #2.
  3. Breakers lose by 6 or fewer, Stallions win, and Stars win. #1 seed belongs to Stallions, Breakers get #2.
  4. Breakers lose by 7 exactly with a score of 15(FGs only)-8(TD + 2pt conversion), Stallions win, Stars win, and Breakers win coin toss. #1 seed to Stallions, Breakers get #2.
  5. Scenarios 3 and 4, but with a Breakers loss, and a Showboats win.

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Pelicans @ Bulls Takeaways

By Chrissy Smith • December 15, 2025
Team Stats (Pelicans @ Bulls) Final Score: 114-104 Rebounds: 53-43 Assists: 21-26 Blocks: 5-5 Steals: 7-10 Turnovers: 14-13 Stat Leaders (Pelicans/Bulls) Scoring Leaders: Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy III, 20; Coby White, 20 Rebound Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 10; Nikola Vučević, 8 Assist Leaders: Derik Queen, 6; Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tre Jones, 5 My Player of the Game: Trey Murphy III Takeaways The Pelicans have won two games in a row! James Borrego has figured something special out with this team, and it's so fun to watch . For the first time in five years, Zion played his first minutes coming off the bench, and it was so good to see Z back on the court weeks ahead of schedule. New Orleans started off the third quarter on a 10-0 run and ended up winning by 10 points. This team is so talented with everyone playing an important role in games. The Saints won today so to have them win as well as the Pelicans was really good for the city. The Pelicans play their next two games at home on Thursday and Saturday. Follow The Kneaux on X , and follow me there too @SportsChrissy.

New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers 2025 Week 15 Recap

By Greyson Jenkins • December 15, 2025
New Orleans Saints 20 - 17 Carolina Panthers Let me start by saying this is officially the happiest I have been as a Saints fan since the hot start the Saints had in 2021 with Jameis Winston. I felt great when the team started hot last season, but I also recognized what Derek Carr was for the organization: a placeholder. I don’t mean that as a slight to Derek Carr by any means, but the team needed to find a young and promising quarterback for the team to actually reset for the future. Well… that time has come with Tyler Shough beating the two top teams in the division in back-to-back weeks. Have the games been perfect? No, but I didn’t expect them to be with a rookie quarterback and a roster depleted of talent. That being said, as someone who doesn’t live in New Orleans, I have to imagine that the city is riding on a high tonight, and hopefully that continues into the offseason. With all of that being said, let’s break down the awesome performance by Tyler Shough and Co. Tyler Shough Shough has continued to improve every single week as a starter, and he seems to consistently take over in clutch moments. Against the Dolphins, he gave Olave a chance to win the game for the team, but it was dropped. Against the Bucs last week, he took over with his legs to take the lead in the fourth. This week, he once again showed up against the Panthers and delivered as perfect a pass as you will see in the NFL to Chris Olave against all-out pressure with Jaycee Horn in coverage. You cannot ask for more from this young rookie, and I will continue to be baffled if I don’t see all of the NFL pundits on ESPN and the other sports networks putting the word out there that Tyler Shough may be the guy for the Saints. Shough finished the night 24/32 for 272 yards and a touchdown, in addition to being the leading rusher of the day with 32 yards. Not only did he elevate this Saints offense, but he also did so even after Cesar Ruiz, Devin Neal, and Devaughn Vele went down. As much as I love Rattler, I can’t say that I believe he would have been able to overcome a similar situation. The Saints have their quarterback of the future, and now the question is, do they give him weapons or try to go and get pieces to make the defense more disruptive? In my mind, they should go and get Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, or Jeremiyah Love and do whatever it takes to see what Shough has in him in 2026. The Defense After allowing another opening drive touchdown in this game, the Saints’ defense has allowed the opposing team's offense into the endzone in five of their last six matchups. That being said, the defense has played well enough in these games to allow their offense chances to make plays to win games. I love what I am seeing for Chase Young, as he has exceeded all of my expectations since coming back from injury. He now has six sacks in the nine games he’s been healthy, and I can all but guarantee he’d have more if the opposing offenses had anyone else they had to worry about on the Saints’ defensive line. If the Saints do go defense to start the draft, Arvell Reese will be the obvious first choice, but I’m not sure they’ll be in the range to pick him. So instead I could see them going with Caleb Downs if they choose to go that side of the ball with their first, or instead wait to go defensive line with their second. I believe the Saints can wait to take a corner in this one, with Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid both showing they are at least average cornerbacks in the NFL. Yes, Quincy Riley did allow a touchdown in this one, but it was mainly because he tried to look for the football instead of simply playing the receiver after being beaten. This will quickly be coached up and is a common mistake you see made by cornerbacks across the league. In my eyes, the key to truly making this defense take another leap would be to fix the interior defensive line. Although they can somehow stop teams repeatedly in goal-to-go situations, opposing teams have found dominant success with inside run schemes. Once the team can fix that in the offseason or in the draft, this defense may find itself in the top half of the league for the foreseeable future. Kellen Moore If this game ended at halftime, I would once again be on here with numerous negative things to say about Kellen Moore. He made a bad challenge on the Panthers' first drive, he wasn’t aggressive to end the half, the offense started slow once again, and the penalties began to pop up, similar to earlier in the season. That being said, the game didn’t end at halftime, and Kellen Moore helped lead this team back in a divisional game, building more and more confidence for this team and what they’re building. Moore finally won his first challenge of the season, and his playcalling on the final two drives was textbook. He knew exactly how to take advantage of the clock and the Panthers’ “soft” defense, and was a major reason the Saints were able to win this game. If Kellen Moore can continue to build hope and make it look like he knows what he’s doing while navigating this roster in the middle of a rebuild, he’ll keep me in his corner. Let’s see what he does to start next week’s game against a Jets team that just let Trevor Lawrence look like he was back playing at Clemson The Irish Hammer I don't have too much to say, but a huge shout-out to Charlie Smyth for going two-for-two on the day with two 40+ yard field goals and a 47-yard game-winner to take down the divisional rival. Charlie Smyth is still developing, but it appears the Saints have found their kicker, and I'm excited to see when he gets the chance to break the new 67-yard field goal record. Cheers to the Irish Hammer. Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: CHARLIE “THE IRISH HAMMER” SMYTH
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