The loss saw the Saints drop to 10-3 and slid to third in the NFC rankings, while the 49ers regained control of the conference.

Fast forward eight days, however, and San Francisco has fallen to fifth after a surprise 29-22 home defeat to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, leaving the door ajar for the Saints to force its way back into one of the top two spots.

New Orleans hosts the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football and a win would improve its record to 11-3, drawing it level with the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers.

The Saints hold the tiebreaker over Seattle, the current No. 1s seed, but their conference record would penalize them in a three-way tie.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s statistical projections, the Saints have a 52 percent of securing a first-round bye but they will in all likelihood have to win out to do so.

New Orleans travels to Tennessee and Carolina in the final two weeks of the regular season, while the Seahawks host the Cardinals and the 49ers and Green Bay faces the Vikings on the road in Week 16 and then travels to Detroit.

Before they can look that far ahead, however, the Saints have to take care of business against the Colts in their final home game in the regular season.

New Orleans arrives into the game with a lengthy injury list which includes safety Vonn Bell, linebacker Kiko Alonso, guard Andrus Peat and cornerbacks Johnson Bademosi and Patrick Robinson.

While the quintet won’t be available on Monday night, Drew Brees will line up under center as usual after overcoming a minor elbow problem.

The veteran quarterback suffered the injury in the final drive of the loss against the 49ers but will be available for the game against the Colts, which could be a historic occasion for him.

The 40-year-old needs three touchdowns to reach Peyton Manning’s all-time record of 539 passing touchdowns.

Matching Manning’s record against one of his former teams would be particularly apt for Brees, but the Saints quarterback insisted individual records were not a priority for him.

“Before the season you know you are a certain distance away, but then once the season starts, you just focus on winning games and doing what I need to do as a quarterback of this team to put us in the best position to succeed,” Brees said in his press conference this week.

“With that, I guess the statistics come, and maybe they add up, and then all of a sudden, you’re close enough to be within striking distance of some of those things.”

The Colts, meanwhile, arrive in New Orleans looking to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. After a 5-2 start, Indianapolis has lost five of its last six games and its playoff chances stand at just four percent.

To play football in January, the Colts have to win out—they play Carolina and Jacksonville after New Orleans—and hope a number of other results go their way.

Indianapolis has lost the last two games against the Saints and its last visit to the New Orleans ended in a 62-7 shellacking.

Colts linebacker Anthony Walker admitted the team was “hurting” after its recent losing streak was extended by a 38-35 defeat in Tampa Bay, but insisted the Colts had not given up hope yet.

“You have to put everything into perspective,” he was quoted as saying by ESPN. “You never want to focus on things you can’t control. We’ll focus on January when it comes, but right now, we’ll focus on Monday Night Football.”

Here’s all you need to know ahead of Monday.

When and where is the game?

The New Orleans Saints host the Indianapolis Colts at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, December 16.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.

TV coverage

The game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN.

Live stream

A live stream will be available via ESPN’s digital platforms, WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

Form

The Saints arrive into Week 15 following a dramatic 48-46 home loss against the San Francisco 49ers a week ago. New Orleans, however, has already clinched a playoff spot and the 49ers loss on Sunday has left the door ajar for them to secure one of the top two seeds in the NFC.

The Colts, meanwhile, slipped to 6-7 after losing 38-35 to Tampa Bay last week and their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.

Series record

The Saints lead the all-times series 7-5 and have won the last two games against Indianapolis. The Colts’ last trip to New Orleans ended in a 62-7 shellacking in October 2011.

Odds

According to BetOnline, the Saints are a nine-point favorite and are 9/10 to cover the spread, while the Colts are 16/5 underdogs.

The over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 46.5.