This was an epic game as 4 touchdowns were scored in the last four minutes of the game. The Saints took the lead late in this game but their defense just couldn’t hold it. The 49ers drove 85 yards on 7 plays to score a TD with 9 seconds left on a 14-yard Alex Smith pass to TE Vernon Davis to crush the Saints’ hopes and send them home a loser.

Drew Brees will have to ice his arm after today as he completed 40 of 63 passes for 462 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs. Chris Ivory led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 23 yards on 9 carries (2.6 ypc). Darren Sproles only rushed for 3 yards on 3 carries (1.0 ypc) today, but he also caught an amazing 15 passes for 119 yards (7.9 avg) with 1 TD grab. WR Marques Colston (9 rec, 136 yards, TD) and TE Jimmy Graham (5 rec, 103 yards, 2 TD grabs) led the way for the Saints in the passing game today. Devery Henderson pitched in with 4 grabs for 49 yards (12.3 avg). The Saints finished up with 37 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.6 ypc) and they completed 40 of 63 passes (63.5%) for 435 yards as the had possession of the ball for 31:20.

The defense was pretty awful in this game, especially late for the Saints. Safeties Malcolm Jenkins (8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and Roman Harper (8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Saints today. DE Cameron Jordan (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and LB Martez Wilson (3 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 tackle for a loss) also pitched in for the Saints in this game. The 49ers finished up with 143 yards rushing on 22 carries (6.5 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 42 passes (57.1%) for 264 yards in this game. The Saints had another solid season but it ends with a thud at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.

The Saints were impressive last weekend in defeating the Lions in the SuperDome. But, not they head across the country to play the old school San Francisco 49ers on the road. The Saints have not been an elite team away from the SuperDome and the weather could effect the offense in a negative way. The 49ers earned the home field in this game due to a great defense and running game. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball: The Saints are likely going to come out throwing the ball this weekend. To do that, they will have to keep rookie OLB Aldon Smith and DE Justin Smith out of the backfield. The Saints are hoping that it’s not to windy tomorrow at Candlestick Park. TE Jimmy Graham and WR Marques Colston are likely to be Brees’ top targets in this game, but the Niners have safety Dashon Goldson and CB Carlos Rogers to deal with them. That might cause Brees to throw the ball more to Lance Moore, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson in this game. The Saints need to have success throwing the ball, because it’s going to be really hard to run on the Niners tomorrow. LBs Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman have been stopping opposing running games cold so far this year.

When the 49ers have the ball: The front seven of the Saints are going to get challenged tomorrow as the Niners love to run the football. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are both outstanding RBs and the Niners are going to try to control the clock and the football with the running game. If the Saints can slow down the Niners running game and force Alex Smith to throw the ball…..they are going to have success on D. WR Michael Crabtree is the Niners’ top WR and he doesn’t scare anyone. The Niners do sometimes have trouble with pass protection, so the Saints are likely going to blitz a lot tomorrow.

PREDICTION: 49ERS 23, SAINTS 20

The Saints were down 14-10 at the half yesterday before they turned up the heat on the Lions and won the game going away.  Drew Brees completed 33 of 43 passes for 466 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Pierre Thomas led the way on the ground for the Saints yesterday with 66 yards rushing on 8 carries (8.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 6 passes for 55 yards (9.2 avg).  Darren Sproles also had a good game with 10 carries for 51 yards (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 4 passes for 34 yards (8.5 avg).  Chris Ivory pitched in with 13 carries for 47 yards (3.6 ypc) in this game.  Marques Colston (7 rec, 120 yards), Robert Meachem (4 rec, 111 yards, TD) and Jimmy Graham (7 rec, 55 yards, TD) led the way for the Saints in this game.  WR Devery Henderson also pitched in with 2 rec, 64 yards, TD in this game.  The Saints finished up with 167 yards rushing on 36 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 33 of 43 passes (76.7%) for 459 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:36.

The Saints were lucky that they were ballhogs offensively because the Lions were moving the ball at will on their defense.  Safety Roman Harper (7 tackles) and CB Jabari Greer (7 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 2 interceptions) led the way for the Saints on D yesterday.  Safety Roman Harper pitched in with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed) also pitched in yesterday.  The Lions finished up with 32 yards rushing on 10 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 43 passes (65.1%) for 380 yards.  The Saints will advance to the second round of the playoffs and they will visit the 49ers next weekend.

The Saints are rolling into the playoffs on a 8-game winning streak, while the Lions have three of their last four games to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season.  The Saints were an incredible 8-0 at home this year where they outscored teams by an average of 41.1 – 17.9!  The Saints beat the Lions 31-17 in New Orleans just five weeks ago.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to come out throwing the ball as usual in this game.  The Lions had 41 sacks and 21 interceptions this year, so Brees will likely have to get rid of the ball quickly while making good decisions with the football…..which he almost always does.  Brees won’t have WR Lance Moore in this game due to a hamstring injury.  That will be o.k. though as he still has TE Jimmy Graham and WRs Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem to throw the ball to.  The Saints are not a passing only team though, so they are going to run the ball some against a Lions’ D that is giving up 128.1 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry so far this year.  Darren Sproles, Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas will likely share the carries in the running game.  Sproles is also going to test the Lions’ linebackers out of the backfield on a few pass plays.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions are going to try to fight fire with fire tomorrow.  The Saints are going to have to get pressure on Matt Stafford, because he also has an outstanding set of WRs and TEs to throw to.  The Saints will likely double cover WR Calvin Johnson, and it still might not stop him as he has been awesome so far this year.  Nate Burleson, Titus Young, Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler give Stafford more targets to throw to if the Saints are giving to much attention towards stopping Calvin Johnson.  The Lions’ secret weapon is RB Kevin Smith.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 37, LIONS 27

The Saints’ defense let them down big time yesterday and it is the reason they will be preparing for next season starting today.  Drew Brees was outstanding as he completed 39 of 60 passes for 404 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Julius Jones pitched in with 59 yards on 15 carries (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 6 passes for 61 yards (10.2 avg).  But, he lost a fumble deep in Saints’  territory setting up Olindo Mare for a field goal.  Reggie Bush only carried the ball 5 times for 12 yards (2.4 ypc) but he also caught 5 passes for 37 yards (7.4 avg).  Fullback Heath Evans didn’t carry the ball but he did catch 4 passes for 23 yards (5.8 avg) with a TD grab.  WRs Marques Colston (4 rec, 66 yards) and Devery Henderson (7 rec, 77 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Saints yesterday.  Drew Brees spread the ball around to 9 different receivers who each caught at least two passes apiece in this game.  The Saints finished up with 77 yards rushing on22 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 39 of 60 passes for 397 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:01.

The defense was awful in this game for the Saints.  LBs Jonathan Vilma (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and Jo-Lonn Dunbar (7 tackles) led the way for the Saints’ D yesterday.  CB Jabari Greer pitched in with 3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a interception.  The Seahawks finished with 149 yards rushing on 25 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 35 passes for 266 yards.  The Saints will not get a shot to defend their Super Bowl Title as they join the crowd of teams that are now waiting until next year.

The Saints beat the Seahawks just 7 weeks ago in New Orleans 34-19.  But this is going to be a tougher task beating the Seahawks on the road and likely in the rain.  With all of the injuries the Saints have at running back they are likely going to be leaning on Drew Brees’ arm to carry them to victory.  The Seahawks are 5-3 at home this year and they seem to sometimes rise to the occasion at Qwest Field.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints need to protect Drew Brees’ in this game.  That means they are going to have to keep DEs Chris Clemons & Raheem Brock out of the backfield.  If Brees has time to throw the ball he should have success against a Seahawks’ D that is allowing 249.6 yards passing per game this year.  I can see Brees trying to stretch the field with bombs to Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson to try to loosen up the secondary.  Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas will likely handle the shorter stuff for the Saints.  Reggie Bush & Julius Jones will carry the load in the running game as the Seahawks are giving up 118.9 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry this year.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks are likely going to try to establish a running game because they don’t want to get into a firefight with the Saints.  The Saints will have to key on stopping Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett in the running game.  If the Saints can stop the Seahawks’ running game then they will be able to harrass Matt Hasselbeck in the pocket, trying to force him into making some big mistakes.  Mike Williams will be Hasselbeck’s top short target with Ben Obomanu being a serious threat over the top. 

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 24, SEAHAWKS 17

The New Orleans Saints fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter and they trailed 10-6 at the half.  But Coach Payton made a lot of changes in the gameplan in the second half and it paid off big time.  It all started with a onside kick on the first play of the second half and the Saints had the momentum the rest of the way.  Drew Brees was outstanding yesterday completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (114.5 QB Rating).  Pierre Thomas was pretty effective in this game as he carried the ball 9 times for 30 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 55 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Reggie Bush pitched in with 5 carries for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5  avg).  Marques Colston (7 rec, 83 yards), Devery Henderson (7 rec, 63 yards) and Jeremy Shockey (3 rec, 13 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Saints yesterday.  The Saints finished up with 332 total yards on offense (51 rushing, 281 passing) in this game.

The Saints gave up a lot of yards on defense but they made big plays when they had to keeping the Colts off the scoreboard.  Safety Roman Harper led the way for the Saints on D with 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Linebacker Jonathan Vilma also had a solid game with 7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  CB Tracy Porter made the biggest impact for the Saints on D as he picked off a Peyton Manning pass late in the 4th quarter that he returned 74 yards for a TD to put the Saints up 14 points.  The Colts finished up with 432 total yards on defense (99 rushing, 333 passing) but it didn’t matter in the end as the SAINTS ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!

The Saints play the most important game in team history tomorrow night in Miami, Florida.  The Saints got here by playing solid football but the offense carries this team.  The Saints will likely run a balanced offense tomorrow with a lot of short passes and by running the ball to control the clock.  The running game will come down to how well the Saints’ O-Line does against the front seven of the Colts who are not known for run defense.  That is good news for both Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush.  Thomas will get a lot of yards between the tackles against the Colts’ D tomorrow for sure.  That will open things up on the outside for Reggie Bush who is averaging 7.7 yards per carry during the post season.  His speed will cause a huge problem on the edges of the Colts’ D as OLBs Clint Session and Philip Wheeler will have problems keeping up with him.  Drew Brees will likely have enough time to throw the ball tomorrow with Dwight Freeney either sitting out the game or being gimpy.  That will lead the Saints’ O-Line to double DE Robert Mathis on the other side of the line negating the Colts’ pass rush.  This is big trouble for the Colts’ D.  The Saints will probably throw short passes to Reggie Bush, Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas to set up deeper throws to Devery Henderson and Marques Colston.  Look for the Saints’ offense to have a field day in the Super Bowl.

When the Colts have the football it’s all about stopping Peyton Manning.  That is easier said than done as both the Ravens and Jets tried to double Reggie Wayne and the result was Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie both having huge games.  This is the kind of game where someone steps up on the big stage and makes a name for himself.  My pick is DE Will Smith who is a very underrated player.  I think he will get in Peyton Manning’s face a few times causing him to rush his throw resulting in a big positive play for the Saints’ D tomorrow.  Look for the Saints’ safeties (Darren Sharper and Roman Harper) to be all over Dallas Clark tomorrow. 

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 34, COLTS 30

23-year old cornerback Tracy Porter has been playing well all year long but he will have his hands full this Sunday against the WRs of the Colts.  He has played in both playoff games for the Saints and he has made 13 tackles, forced 1 fumble, defensed 2 passes and he has 1 interception.  The Saints will need their corners to make some big plays if they are going to pull the upset this weekend.  Porter played in 12 games during the regular season for the Saints and he made 57 tackles, defensed 12 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he intercepted 4 passes (1 returned for a TD).