Saints Draw an Ace for Wild-Card Game : Pro football: They defeat Jets, 20-0, to gain home-field advantage for playoff.

For the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets, Saturday was another typical day.

The Saints stuck with a no-flash game plan that got them to the playoffs, and the Jets did all of the things that got them nowhere.

The result was a 20-0 victory by the Saints--their first shutout of the season--that ensured them of playing at home in a wild-card playoff, and a merciful end to the Jets’ miserable season.

New Orleans (12-4) will play at the Superdome next weekend against either the Philadelphia Eagles or Green Bay Packers.

New York controlled the ball for 13:09 of the first quarter, but Saint linebacker Sam Mills knocked the ball out of Browning Nagle’s hands as the quarterback set up to pass, picked it up and ran 76 yards to score his first NFL touchdown.

“It felt like the longest run ever,” Mills said. “I was just running and hoping there were no receivers around to catch me.”

Craig Heyward scored on a two-yard run during the third quarter, and Morten Andersen made 27- and 36-yard field goals into a brisk wind, giving him 20 consecutive successful kicks.

New York finished what began as a season of promise with a 4-12 record. It was a season seemingly marked by one disaster after another, reaching a low point on Nov. 29, when the Jets lost defensive end Dennis Byrd because of a broken neck that left him partially paralyzed.

Saturday’s fourth-quarter argument between Coach Bruce Coslet and defensive back Erik McMillan--they had to be separated by injured quarterback Ken O’Brien--only seemed to typify the Jets’ season.