The Saints knew just what they needed. The problem was how they were going to put together a winning streak when they couldn't even win two games in a row and had been soundly crushed in two of their past three outings.

At that point, with a 4-5 record and sitting in last place in the NFC South, any talk about being in the playoff picture was simply laughable. Much has changed since then, however, as the Saints have won two straight games for the first time since last December after beating the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.

They're still in the NFC South cellar, but talking about the playoffs isn't so laughable now as the Saints (6-5) head into an extremely crucial Week 13 game at Tampa Bay (8-3) on Sunday.

Starting with Sunday's contest with the Bucs, the Saints have a chance to make a move in the final five weeks of the season. Four of those games are against playoff contenders, so they somewhat control their own destiny from here on out.

The one thing they don't know, of course, is how many wins it's going to take to get to the postseason. Then again, it's something they really can't spend time worrying about as they begin to head down the homestretch while working on a short week after Monday night's game.

"Is it 10? Is it 11? Is it nine?" Saints coach Sean Payton said when asked how many wins he thinks it might take to get where they want to go. "We don't know and I don't know how else to approach it other than with each week there's one less game to play.

"I think, again, the focus has to be just on this game," he added. "If I knew the results of the other games, maybe I'd be able to answer that question. But I don't know what's going to happen with the rest of the division."

That's a problem in itself for the Saints. They're two games behind co-leading Carolina and Tampa Bay (both 8-3) and one game shy of Atlanta (7-4). The good news is they play all three again before the season ends.

As a result of back-to-back games against the Bucs and Falcons the next two weeks, the Saints will know a lot about where they stand -- and whether they have a chance or not.

"I think the next two, three weeks have always in our league cleared things up and narrowed the field if you will," Payton said. "I think it'll be the case again this year. You'll begin to get an idea of who's contending and who is not.

"Right now as you look at the number of teams contending in the NFC, there's a lot of them. Forget about the division leaders, there's a lot of them fighting for the other spots. We understand that. That being said, that margin for error becomes smaller."

SERIES HISTORY: 34th regular-season meeting. The Saints lead, 20-13, after winning three of the past five matchups, including a season-opening 24-20 decision over the Buccaneers in the Superdome on Sept. 7. The Bucs, however, have won two of the past three games in Raymond James Stadium.