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Come Fan with UsSunday, June 21, 2026

NFL Playoffs Predictions: Lions Have The Firepower To Beat Saints

The Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints will meet on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. (ET) on NBC for the first NFC Wild Card game on the 2012 NFL playoffs schedule. The Saints are heavy favorites but don't count out the Lions just yet. Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions blog, knows the Lions have enough firepower to keep up with the Saints if everything falls into place just right.

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

Why the Lions will win: The Lions will win because they have Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Few teams in the league have the talent to win a shootout with the Saints, but the Lions have enough firepower on offense to do just that. On defense, the Lions should be helped this time around by Ndamukong Suh, Louis Delmas, Lawrence Jackson and several other players who were out the first time the Lions played the Saints this season (Detroit lost 31-17), giving them a much better chance to hang with New Orleans' explosive offense.

Why the Lions will lose: The Lions will lose because they don't have a strong enough secondary to contain Drew Brees. Although injuries have been an issue lately and the return of Delmas will make a big difference, it's tough to look past what Matt Flynn did to the Lions in Week 17. The secondary has been very inconsistent as of late, and if Brees gets into another groove, it could be a long night for the Lions.

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

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.

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