NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday had the feel of a playoff game.

Both teams had a great deal at stake.

Both played with a strong sense of urgency in all three phases.

Both teams took turns having the upper hand.

And the crowd in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was raucous from beginning to end.

At the end of 3½ hours the Saints (13-3) prevailed, 31-28, to tie the franchise record for wins in a season and guaranteeing them the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Regardless of what happens in the regular-season finale against Carolina next Sunday in the Superdome, the Saints will have a bye for the first round of the playoffs.

They will host the lowest-seeded of three potential opponents in the NFC in a divisional round game on either Jan. 12 or Jan. 13. If they win that they will host the NFC Championship on Jan. 20 for a trip to the Super Bowl.

The only other time New Orleans has been the No. 1 seed was in 2009 when it beat Arizona and Minnesota in the Superdome to reach Super Bowl XLIV, which it won.

“It’s hard to secure the number one seed,” quarterback Drew Brees said. “Knowing that we’ve done it and knowing that the road comes through New Orleans, that gives us a lot of confidence.”

The Steelers (8-6-1) took the lead for the first time in the third quarter and held a 28-24 advantage early in the fourth quarter.

Aside from a kneel-down to end the first half, they had scored touchdowns on each of their last three possessions, driving a total of 238 yards.

The Steelers were in field-goal range as they played a third-and-2 at the New Orleans 34, but Kurt Coleman forced a fumble by former LSU running back Stevan Ridley and Alex Okafor recovered for the Saints.

The Saints drove toward the Pittsburgh end zone before stalling at the 32. The Steelers blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt by Wil Lutz, who earlier set a franchise record by making his 26th consecutive kick, and took over at their 37 with 6:13 left.

But Pittsburgh faced a fourth-and-five from its own 42. Coach Mike Tomlin chose to fake a punt and Craig Robertson and Chris Banjo stopped Roosevelt Nix just short of the first down.

“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Tomlin said. “I wanted to ensure that we had an opportunity to win the game. I liked the play. Where the game was and the time that was left I thought that if we did not stop them, that we would have the opportunity to have the ball last. We did — obviously unsuccessful.”

On a fourth-and-2 play minutes later, Brees’ pass to Michael Thomas fell incomplete but a pass-interference penalty of Joe Haden gave New Orleans a first down at the 22.

The Saints overcame a holding penalty on Ryan Ramczyk and a dropped pass by Keith Kirkwood when Brees connected with Ted Ginn Jr., who was activated from injured reserve on Saturday, for a first down at the seven.

“Ted is a big-time player and obviously a guy that we count on,” Brees said. “That was a huge play in the game.”

Two plays later Brees threw a two-yard touchdown to Thomas with 1:25 left in the game.

Along the way Pittsburgh used its remaining time-outs.

As time wound down on fourth-and-15, Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 33 of 50 for 380 yards and three touchdowns, connected with Antonio Brown (14-185-2) for a 19-yard completion of fourth-and-15.

The Steelers eventually reached the New Orleans 42, but JuJu Smith-Schuster (11-115) lost the ball when he was hit by Sheldon Rankins and Demario Davis recovered for the Saints.

“That was a big-time play,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “These guys have done a good job coming up with plays when we needed it. We’ve won a lot of different ways this year.”

The Saints’ offense, which hadn’t scored a first-half touchdown in the last three games, and their defense, which hadn’t allowed more than 17 points in the last six games, swapped roles to some degree as the offense regained much, but not all, of its mid-season form, and the defense showed vulnerability that had been absent since early in the season.

Pittsburgh led 3-0 when New Orleans ended its first-quarter touchdown drought on a 1-yard run by Mark Ingram II, who broke a tie with Deuce McAllister for the most rushing touchdowns in franchise history, scoring his 50th.

The Steelers kicked another field goal before Alvin Kamara’s 8-yard scoring run gave the Saints a 14-6 lead. Roethlisberger’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Samuels and 2-point conversion pass to Eli Rogers tied the score with 40 seconds left in the half.

That was enough time for Brees, who completed 27-of-39 for 326 yards and a touchdown in his first interception-free game in five, and Kamara to team on a 31-yard completion that set up Lutz’s record-breaking kick from 43 yards, which gave the Saints a 17-14 halftime lead.

New Orleans took the second-half kickoff and drove to Kamara’s 1-yard touchdown before Roethlisberger and Brown teamed on scores of three and 20 yards to take a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

But it didn’t hold up.

“Man,” Payton said, “(the Saints) showed a great resolve.”