The Saints got a huge win in this game as they clinched the playoffs while denting the ego of the Atlanta Falcons at the same time.  Drew Brees completed 35 of 49 passes for 302 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (0ne of which was returned 26 yards for a TD by DE Chauncey Davis).  But, Brees stepped up and made big plays late in this game to help the Saints pull out this win.  Pierre Thomas led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 63 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 7 passes for 39 yards (5.6 avg) last night.  Reggie Bush only carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards but he pitched in with 4 catches for 20 yards (5.0 avg).  WR Robert Meachem (10 rec, 101 yards), WR Lance Moore (4 rec, 48 yards) and TE Jimmy Graham (4 rec, 26 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Saints last night.  The Saints finished up with 72 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 35 of 49 passes for 296 yards as they had possession of the football for 36:35!

LBs Jo-Lonn Dunbar (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), Jonathan Vilma (5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) and Marvin Mitchell (3 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) led a sterling effort by the Saints’ D in this game.  The Falcons finished up with 75 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 29 passes for 140 yards!  The Saints clinched a playoff spot last night and they are 11-4 on the year now.  They still have a chance to win the NFC South with a win over the Buccaneers and a Panthers win over the Falcons next weekend.  Don’t hold your breath on the Panthers winning next weekend.

The Saints tied this game with11:34 left in the football game but then the Ravens put up a couple of FGs to put the Saints away.  Drew Brees was solid as usual as he completed 29 of 46 passes for 267 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Pierre Thomas led the way for the Saints on the ground with 20 yards on 6 carries (3.3 ypc).  Reggie Bush carried the ball 4 times for -4 yards (-1.0 ypc) but he also added 7 grabs for 36 yards (5.1 avg).  Marques Colston (6 rec, 80 yards), Jimmy Graham (5 rec, 29 yards, 2 TDs) and Lance Moore (2 rec, 26 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Saints.  The Saints finished up with 27 yards rushing on 14 carries  (1.9 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 46 passes for 242 yards.

LBs Jonathan Vilma (11 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and Danny Clark (10 tackles) led the way for the Saints in this game.  The Ravens finished up with 208 yards rushing on 39 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 20 passes for 148 yards.  The Saints are now 10-4 on the season as they are 2 games behind the Falcons in the NFC South.

The Saints are on a roll right now as they have won six games in a row since the Browns beat them down.  In those games, the Saints have scored 183 combined points!  The Ravens have won three of their last four games.  This is going to be a good football game and here is a lot at the matchups:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints should not change the offense a bit this weekend as the Ravens have been having defensive issues as of late.  If the Saints give Drew Brees time to throw the ball this Sunday, I think Brees is going to have a big game.  Brees will likely spread the ball around in the passing game giving a lot of his players a taste of the action.  Chris Ivory is a little bit banged up but even if he can’t go….Pierre Thomas & Reggie Bush are  back.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are likely going to try to run the ball more than usual to try to control the clock.  That means the Saints front seven will have to step up and stop Willis McGahee  and Ray Rice.  Joe Flacco likes to throw the ball down the field so the safeties need to have a good game for the Saints to stop the Ravens’ passing game.  The Ravens are averaging 229.9 yards passing per game this year so that won’t be easy.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 27, RAVENS 23

The Saints dominated this game yesterday.  Drew Brees completed 25 of 40 passes for 221 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs in this game.  Chris Ivory led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 47 yards on 7 carries (6.7 ypc).  Pierre Thomas pitched in with 12 carries for 39 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg).  Reggie Bush carried the ball 9 times for 39 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 22 yards (4.4 avg).  WRs Lance Moore (5 rec, 70 yards, TD) and Marques Colston (5 rec, 46 yards, 2 TDs) led the way for the Saints in the passing game yesterday.  The Saints finished up with 132 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 40 passes for 213 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:01.

LB Jonathan Vilma led the way for the Saints with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit), safety Roman Harper (7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit), CB Jabari Greer (4 tackles, 3 passes defensed and a fumble recovery) and CB Malcolm Jenkins (4 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (one he returned 96 yards for a TD) led the way for the Saints’ D.  The Rams finished up with 136 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 32 passes for 191 yards.  The Saints are now 10-3 on the season after yesterday’s win but they are still 1 game behind the Falcons in the NFC South.

Drew Brees tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Marques Colston with 31 seconds left in the game to seal a hard fought win in the Jungle for the Saints.  Brees completed 24 of 29 passes for 313 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT in this game.  Chris Ivory had another monster game for the Saints yesterday with 15 carries for 117 yards (7.8 ypc) with 2 TD carries.  Reggie Bush pitched in with 5 carries for 26 yards and he caught 3 passes for 0 yards.  WR Robert Meachem (3 rec, 106 yards, TD), TE Jimmy Graham (3 rec, 72 yards), WR Marques Colston (3 rec, 65 yards, TD) and WR Lance Moore (6 rec, 36 yards) led the way for the Saints’ through the air in this game.  The Saints finished up with 146 yards rushing on 22 carries (6.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 29 passes for 290 yards despite only having the ball for 27:27 of this game.

Safety Roman Harper (10 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit), LB Jonathan Vilma (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and CB Tracy Porter (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way for a so-so effort by the Saints’ D.  The Bengals finished up with 96 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 33 passes for 215 yards.  The Saints are now 9-3 on the year.

The Saints really had a battle on their hands yesterday as the Cowboys missed a long field goal at the end of the game.  Drew Brees was solid as he completed 23 of 39 passes for 352 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Julius Jones led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 45 yards on 10 carries (4.5 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg).  Chris Ivory pitched in with 38 yards rushing on 7 carries (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  WRs Marques Colston (6 rec, 105 yards), Devery Henderson (4 rec, 97 yards), Robert Meachem (1 rec, 55 yards) and Lance Moore (5 rec, 39 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game as Brees was spreading the ball around.  The Saints finished up with 81 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 39 passes for 333 yards despite only having the ball for 25:19.

LB Jonathan Vilma (11 tackles) and safety Roman Harper (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Saints’ on D yesterday.  DE Will Smith (INT), CB Malcolm Jenkins (FR) and CB Tracy Porter (FR) also made huge plays for the Saints yesterday.  The Cowboys finished up with 144 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 42 passes for 313 yards.  The Saints are now 8-3 on the season.

The Saints had this game well in hand most of the way.  Drew Brees was outstanding last week as he completed 29 of 43 passes for 382 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Chris Ivory led the way for the Saints on the ground with 99 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) with a TD carry before dinging up his left shoulder.  Marques Colston (8 rec, 113 yards, 2 TDs) and Robert Meachem (3 rec, 50 yards, 2 TD grabs) were the top playmakers in the passing game for the Saints last week.  The Saints finished up with 112 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 43 passes for 382 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:45.

The defense got shredded by Matt Hasselbeck in this game.  He threw for 366 yards and the Saints’ D didn’t have any sacks as they weren’t getting anywhere near him.  The Saints finished up with 58 yards rushing on 17 carries (3.4 ypc) and they completed 32 of 44 passes for 366 yards.  The Saints are now 7-3 on the year.

The Saints completely destroyed the Panthers in this game.  Drew Brees completed 27 of 43 passes for 253 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT yesterday.  Julius Jones (6 car, 68 yards), Chris Ivory (12 car, 50 yards) and Ladell Betts (13 car, 31 yards, TD) led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game.  WRs Lance Moore (6 rec, 77 yards) and Marques Colston (8 rec, 65 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Saints yesterday.  TEs Jimmy Graham (3 rec, 49 yards, TD), David Thomas (4 rec, 45 yards) and Jeremy Shockey (1 rec, 7 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Saints yesterday.  The Saints finished up with 165 yards rushing on 32 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 43 passes for 241 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:41.

The defense was outstanding for the Saints yesterday.  Roman Harper led the way for the Saints’ D yesterday with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit.  LB Jonathan Vilma (7 tackles), CB Jabari Greer (4 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a interception that he returned 24 yards for a TD) and DE Alex Brown (fumble recovery) also had solid games for the Saints yesterday.  The Panthers finished up with 127 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 36 passes for 68 yards.  The Saints are now 6-3 on the season.

The Saints played great defense all night long and then the offense woke up in the second half to lead the way to victory.  Drew Brees was really sharp in the second half as he finished up completing 34 of 44 passes for 305 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception against the supposedly tough D of the Steelers.  Julius Jones led the way on the ground for the Saints last night with 16 yards rushing on 7 carries (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg).  WRs Robert Meachem (6 rec, 76 yards), Marques Colston (6 rec, 75 yards, TD) and Lance Moore (7 rec, 54 yards, TD) all had solid games for the Saints last night as Drew Brees was spreading the ball around.  The Saints finished up with only 30 yards rushing on 21 carries (1.4 ypc) and they also completed 34 of 44 passes for 288 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:06!

LBs Jonathan Vilma (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and Scott Shanle (8 tackles) led the way for the Saints’ D last night.  CB Leigh Torrence (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and safety Darren Sharper (1 tackle, 1 fumble recovery) also made huge plays for the Saints’ D last night.  The Steelers finished up with 108 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 28 passes for 171 yards.  The Saints are now 5-3 on the year.

The Browns made a lot of big plays on defense and special teams which crippled the Saints today.  Drew Brees was pretty awful today as he completed 37 of 56 passes for 356 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 INTs (2 of which were returned for TDs by Browns’ LB David Bowens).  Chris Ivory got brought back to reality in this game as he carried the ball 15 times for 48 yards (3.2 ypc).  Marques Colston (10 rec, 112 yards, TD), Ladell Betts (8 rec, 48 yards) and David Thomas (3 rec, 33 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Saints today.  The Saints finished up with 58 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 37 of 56 passes for 336 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:34!

The Saints’ special teams made two big mistakes that cost them points in this game.  The Browns had a shocking fake punt deep in their own territory on which punter Reggie Hodges ran for 68 yards setting up a Browns’ field goal.  Punt returner Josh Cribbs started running to his right and then he threw a lateral pass all the way across the field to Browns’ QB Eric Wright who returned it 62 yards to set up more Browns’ points!

Defensively the Saints were pretty solid in this game.  Michael Jenkins (9 tackles), Jonathan Vilma (5 tackles), Will Smith (4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and Jo-Lonn Dunbar (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Saints on D in this game.  The Browns finished up with 125 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 10 of 17 passes for 85 yards.  The Saints are now 4-3 on the season after this very disappointing loss.