NFL Playoffs 2012: Saints Enter Lions Game As Heavy Favorites

For more on Saturday’s game, head over to Lions blog Pride Of Detroit and Saints blog Canal Street Chronicles. Be sure to check our NFL hub and stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates.

Without further ado, here are the 36 possible Super Bowl 46 matchups. Disagree? I’ll see you in the comments.

The only subplot that is even remotely interesting about this game, which would probably end 8-3 or something, is that it would feature Urban Meyer’s two most prominent pupils, Tebow and former Utah star Alex Smith. This would definitely not make you hate Braxton Miller for no good reason.

For those stuck with only a capable mobile device, Saturday’s game can also be found on the NFL Mobile app for Verizon Wireless. Unfortunately, the game cannot be found on other carriers by legal means. Saturday’s game will kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET in New Orleans. Chris Collinsworth and Al Michaels will call the game for NBC.

For more on Saturday’s game, head over to Lions blog Pride Of Detroit and Saints blog Canal Street Chronicles. Be sure to check our NFL hub and stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates.

We asked Pride of Detroit to tell us why the Lions will win and also why they’ll lose.

Check out SB Nation’s NFL playoffs picks. Here is the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

We asked our Saints blog, Canal Street Chronicles, why the Saints will win the game, and also why they’ll lose:

Why the Saints will lose: I really think the only way any opponent can take down the Saints is to absolutely dominate on defense at the line of scrimmage and to beat the ever-loving crap out of Drew Brees. Early, often and until the end.

Collinsworth, Michaels, and Tafoya are the standard NBC Sunday Night football crew, so it’s only natural that they would handle the evening game. The game will kickoff at 8:00 p.m. ET in New Orleans and will be aired nationally on NBC. The game will also be live streamed on-line at NBC.com.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

Dave Cariello of Canal Street Chronicles writes the Saints defense is better than you may think.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

The Lions are the big underdogs but they really do have the formula to be competitive with the Saints. The defense has its issues but the Lions have a great defensive line that can create pressure on Drew Brees without sending a lot of extra players.

Judging by the experts’ picks in this game, it’s no surprise the Saints are huge favorites. Most expect New Orleans to win.

In reality, though, the Saints have been better on defense. Like the Patriots, they give up a lot of yards but they also make key stops.

I’m not ready to say this will be a 10-7 game or anything like that but the Saints defense is better than they’re given credit for.

Delmas missed the last five games after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. According to the report from the Lions, Delmas was able to go through the full range of motion, the kind of moves he will need against the Saints’ aerial attack, with no problems. Berry has been dealing with a shoulder injury.

For more on the Lions, visit Pride of Detroit. Head over to Canal Street Chronicles for more on the Saints.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

So which underdog has the best shot at winning this weekend?

Our roundtable participants are SB Nation NFL bloggers David Fucillo and Jason Garrison, as well as myself, SBNation.com’s NFL editor.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

The Saints opened as 10-point favorites this week and, according to Odds Shark’s excellent database, the line has increased by at least ½ of a point since the lines were first posted. In a move that could be related the over-under of 58 has also increased on most outlets after starting out at an already-high 58.

Betting on the playoffs is always a bit of a gamble (pun may or may not be intended) especially in the aptly-named wildcard round, but odds are the Lions are going to have their hands full if Vegas is suggesting that they will lose by at least 10 points.

SB Nation editor Andrew Sharp comments on the Lions being “insulted by the idea that they should be insulted”. Speaking of disrespect, Preston Gary at Canal Street Chronicles takes issue with the Saints not getting the coveted Sunday match-up, and extra day of rest, due to the size (or lack thereof) of the media market.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

Only the Saints are truly scary in the 2012 NFL playoffs, according to SB Nation’s survey of the Super Bowl chances of Wild Card Weekend teams, and Andrew Sharp calls New Orleans “definitely the best team in the Wild Card round.”. But if they should win on Saturday, that would be in keeping with recent history.

Prior to those games, though, the series was a little more even: the Lions had a three-game winning streak over New Orleans in the early 2000s, with no win coming by more than a possession, and the Saints had a three-game winning streak in the mid-1990s, but the teams more or less alternated wins in their series history before the ‘90s.

But, if this NFL season has taught us anything, it’s that things usually don’t go the way you expect. So it shouldn’t be that surprising to see a dark horse team, such as the Lions or Falcons, make a Super Bowl run. It’s happened a couple of times recently -- a Wild Card team wins four in a row, usually on the road, to capture the title.

SB Nation’s NFL playoffs roundtable looked at the dark horse candidates in the postseason and it’s down to two teams -- Lions and Falcons.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz spoke to the media this week and indicated that the Lions simply can not play like they did last weekend when it comes to the secondary.

The Lions are playing the NFL’s most prolific single-season passer in Drew Brees. He broke Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a single season (shattered it, actually) and so the biggest test for the Lions this weekend is to A.) figure out what the heck happened last week against the Packers and B.) fix it.

Knowing how great the Saints played at home this season and how many records they broke, it’s probably safe to assume that Detroit’s coaching staff isn’t looking forward to this weekend’s game. The Lions’ offense isn’t too bad itself, though, meaning this game will likely (d)evolve into a shootout before all is said and done.

Check out Canal Street Chronicles for the latest on the Saints and Pride of Detroit for the latest on the Lions, and head on over to the SBNation NFL news hub for everything you need to know about the 2012 playoffs.

The Saints have been unbeatable in the Superdome this season, going 8-0 while scoring 42.4 points a game, an NFL record.

New Orleans high-octane passing offense is designed to win home shootouts, with Brees breaking Dan Marino’s 27-year old single-season passing record, throwing for 5,476 yards, 46 TD’s and 14 INT’s this year.