Saints – Vikings for NFC Championship
Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna’ beat dem Saints? Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna’ beat dem Saints?
Um… Maybe the Vikings can? Yep, that is exactly what Saints fans from the Big Easy are wondering after Brett Favre came up with four freaking touchdowns to beat the Cowboys and take the Vikes to the 2010 NFC championship game.
The Minnesota Vikings showed last week how incredibly difficult it can be to score against their defense with the way they’ve been on Romo’s ass all game long last week. And since Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been struggling during the last few games of their regular season campaign, you have to wonder how the heck will Brees be able to take himself out of this funk against arguably one of the best defenses in football.
The Vikings, thanks to Brett Favre, have become one of the best teams in the NFC. Their 8-0 record at the Metrodome is a testament to what type of team they can be with the crowd behind them. The problem is, they’ll be playing on the road this Sunday in front of what will definitely be a hostile crowd at the Big Easy.
The Vikings have lost 4 of their last 5 road games including their last 3 in the regular season to the Bears, Panthers, and Cardinals. Minnesota scores 5 points less, averaging 26 points per game and gives up 5 more points a game, 23.5 points per game, on the road. The rushing offense, lead by Adrian Peterson who remains without a 100 yard game since week 10 of the regular season, drops nearly 30 yards a game, going from 130.6 to 106.5 rushing yards.
The defensive line, which served the Vikings well against Dallas with 6 sacks, also suffers a steep decline in production on the road. Averaging 3.4 sacks at home, the Vikings still manage to pressure the quarterback, but they average just over 2.5 sacks per game. That’s definitely something you want to hear if you’re Drew Brees.
As far as the New Orleans Saints are concerned, they have probably the most potent and explosive offensive in the league, averaging 33 points at home and gaining more than 423 yards per game. Drew Brees leads the offense with a quarterback rating of over 120 at home with 20 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions.
The running triumvirate of Reggie Bush, Bell, and Thomas average more than 4.5 yards a carry at home this season, making this Saints team one of those teams you DON’T want to meet at the Metrodome.
But will you bet against a guy like Brett Favre who manages to surprise us all every week? This is the first time that the Saints have been this far into the playoffs while Favre has already been here a number of times. Let’s hope you don’t make the same mistake Jerry Jones did last week when he decided to bet against Brett.
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Can the Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints to advance to Super Bowl XLIV? SPORTSBETTING.com has the odds.
New Orleans Saints -4.5
Minnesota Vikings +4.5
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