NFL Playoff Previews: Lions at Saints
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2012 NFC Wildcard Round |
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Detroit Lions (10-6)vs.New Orleans Saints (13-3) |
KEY PLAYERS
Drew Brees had an unbelievable season, but can he keep the magic going?
Ford: Drew Brees
Of course, the marquee player in this game is Drew Brees. Brees is fresh off one of the greatest regular season ever. A season which saw him become the first QB to complete over 71% of his passes in NFL history and shatter Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season by nearly 400. At home this year, Brees has a QB rating over 120, completed 72% of his passes, and threw 29 touchdown passes. And over the seasons final 8 games, Brees had a QB rating over 120, completed 72% of his passes, and threw 27 touchdowns along with just 4 interceptions. Regardless of whether or not he’s named the NFL MVP, this season will not soon be forgotten.
Mitchell: Ndamukong Suh
You won’t find a better or more controversial player than Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh. Suh, along with the rest of Detroit’s defensive front, will have the task of putting pressure on Drew Brees and not allowing him to have time to dissect the Lions’ suspect secondary. Suh will also be a factor in stopping the Saints rushing attack led by Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. In the very least, the Lions need to stop the New Orleans rushing attack and force them to be one dimensional. Stopping Drew Brees is a tough task for a defense that was picked apart by Matt Flynn last week.
KEY POSITIONAL BATTLE: Detroit’s Run Defense vs. New Orleans’ Rushing Offense
Mitchell: The Lions don’t have much chance in hell of stopping Drew Brees, who like Brady pointed out had a historic season. This is probably going to be a high scoring game, and the Lions need to in the very least stop the Saints from running the ball effectively. If the Saints can move the ball on the ground, then their offense is pretty much unstoppable. If not, then it still isn’t easy to keep Drew Brees from putting up big numbers, but it gives the Lions offense a chance to keep up. If the Saints can get it going on the ground, I don’t see Detroit having much of a chance in this game.
X-FACTOR: Turnovers
Ford: As a big underdog, Detroit needs any advantage it can get. One area where Detroit can get an advantage is by picking up extra possessions by forcing turnovers. Though Detroit was 3rd in the NFL in takeaways this season, they were unable to force a single turnover in their week 13 matchup against New Orleans. If they are to pull off the upset, extra possessions will be the key. Though Brees hasn’t turned the ball over much lately, he’s been known to be turnover-prone in the past. Brees threw 22 picks in 2010 and threw 10 in the first half of this season.
Stafford and Calvin Johnson are big reasons for Detroit's first playoff berth since 1999.
PREDICTIONS
Ford: Detroit has a great offense and Matt Stafford looks like he could soon be joining the ranks of the elite quarterbacks if he hasn’t already, but the Saints have put together one of the greatest offensive seasons of all-time. As a team, they racked up 7,474 yards from scrimmage. In the last 10 years, no team has come within 600 yards of that more. I’ve covered Drew Brees’ brilliance, but the running backs have also been great. In the regular season, the three running backs Detroit will face on Saturday (Darren Sproles, Chris Ivory, and Pierre Thomas) ran for over 1,500 yards and averaged over 5.5 yards per carry. Detroit just can’t hang with New Orleans. PICK: New Orleans 38, Detroit 28
Mitchell:Brady is spot on. This game will probably be a shootout, but the Saints have more offensive firepower. Even without Mark Ingram, the Saints still have a strong stable of backs that should be able to find space against Detroit’s 23rd ranked run defense. It’s going to be fun to watch Drew Brees and Matt Stafford go back-and-forth in this game, but the Saints already proved to be the better team back in December, and you know they are eager to erase the memory of last season’s first round loss to the Seahawks. The Saints are clicking on all cylinders right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were able to make it to the Super Bowl. PICK: New Orleans 41, Detroit 30
