The Saints can still make up for their lost opportunity. But they need some help.

I feel relatively certain New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees would gladly trade all five of his touchdown passes to reverse the outcome of Sunday’s epic shootout loss against the San Francisco 49ers.

But he can’t and the ‘Niners 48-46 comeback victory at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome stands, putting the Black and Gold behind the proverbial 8-ball in the race for home-field advantage in the NFC.

The NFC Road to Super Bowl LIV can still go through New Orleans but the Saints (10-3) will need some unwitting partners to make it happen.

They no longer control their own destiny to claim the all-important No. 1 seed.

But they still have a puncher’s chance by sweeping their final three games of the regular season, beginning Monday night (ESPN, 7:15 p.m.) against the Indianapolis Colts (6-7) at the Superdome.

It promises to be a special evening thanks to a stroke of genius by the Saints organization to use the nationally-televised occasion to honor the Super Bowl XLIV championship team of 2009. On the night of Feb. 7, 2010, the Saints whipped the Colts 31-17 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the same venue for this year’s Super Bowl LIV.

Monday night could become extra special for the 40-year-old Brees, who’s on the cusp of surpassing Peyton Manning to become the NFL’s all-time leader for touchdown passes in the regular season.

Brees now has thrown 537 TD passes (17 this season in eight games), trailing only Manning (539) and one ahead of New England quarterback Tom Brady (536). Brady gets the first crack at eclipsing Manning in Week 15 at noon Sunday against the lowly Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

Heck, it looked like Brees might claim the record Sunday against the 49ers, posting his 11th career game with at least five TD passes.

Unlike the first 10, he lost this one.

His fifth and last TD pass — an 18-yard collaboration with wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith with 53 seconds remaining — gave the Saints a short-lived 46-45 lead. In hindsight, leaving that much time on the clock for the 49ers and their coming-of-age quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo proved to be a fatal mistake.

Who would’ve thunk?

Jimmy G made the Saints pay dearly ... with a huge assist from the Black and Gold defense coached by coordinator Dennis Allen. Garoppolo used all 53 seconds to drive the 49ers into chip shot field-goal range, thanks to a fourth-and-2 completion to tight end George Kittle that covered 53 yards (counting 14 penalty yards for a face-mask penalty against Saints safety Marcus Williams).

With two seconds remaining, kicker Robbie Gould stepped up and drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired, enabling the 49ers to overcome a deficit for the fourth time in a game where they twice trailed by 13 points.

Give credit to Garoppolo, who out-dueled Brees in his backyard and helped the 49ers amass a whopping 516 yards. Jimmy G distinguished himself in a hostile environment, throwing for 349 yards and four TDs and posting a stellar 131.7 passer rating.

Make no mistake: Jimmy G played brilliantly. But few opposing quarterbacks have come into Brees’ house and out-dueled the sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer.

And while the game may have been an instant classic, featuring wild ebbs and flows, the Saints defense has seen better days. So has Saints Coach Sean Payton, whose high risk/reward gamble to throw out of punt formation on fourth-and-18 from the 49ers 45 late in the third quarter resulted in a costly incompletion and great field position for San Francisco.

The 49ers responded with a 14-play, 55 yard touchdown drive to extend their lead to 42-33.

The bottom line is the three-time defending NFC South-champion Saints now are assured of no worse than the No. 3 seed in the NFC and a wildcard round home game after squandering a golden opportunity against the 49ers.

Yet after near-losses at the Superdome against Houston (30-28), Dallas (12-10) and Carolina (34-31) and an inexplicable loss to Atlanta (26-9) earlier this season, I wonder if the Saints will be able to take advantage of their homefield advantage in the postseason.