Saturday, January 11th 2014 (4:34 PM ET)
CenturyLink Field, Seattle WA
Station: FOX
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa (sideline)
Point Spread: Seahawks (-8)
Over/Under: 47.5
Expected Game-Time Weather: 41 degrees and 100 percent chance of rain.
Saints Offense vs Seahawks Defense | Team | PPG | Passing Yds | Rushing Yds | Total Yds | Sacks | Turnover Diff. |
| Saints | 25.9 (10) | 307.4 (2) | 92.1 (25) | 399.4 (4) | 37 (9) | 0 (14) |
| Seahawks | 14.4 (1) | 172.0 (1) | 101.6 (7) | 273.6 (1) | 44 (8) | +20 (1) |
New Orleans wasn't nearly as dominating on the offensive side of the as in previous years. During the late runs in the postseason and Super Bowl season, the Saints put up top-five scoring numbers.
That didn't happen during the 2013 regular season, though New Orleans did still finish among the top offenses in passing yards and total yards. The interesting thing here is that Drew Brees and Co. put up a total of 43 points in their last four regular season games on the road, including just seven against these very same Seahawks back in Week 13.
On the other hand, Seattle's defense has been downright filthy at The Link. While Dan Quinn's unit gave up the same amount of points per game at home as on the road, this is a bit skewed.
Some of those points came when Seattle was up by multiple scores and playing its reserves. It gave up less than 10 points per game in its final three regular season home games.
Seahawks Offense vs Saints Defense | Team | PPG | Passing Yds | Rushing Yds | Total Yds | Sacks | Turnover Diff. |
| Seahawks | 26.1 (8) | 202.2 (26) | 136.8 (4) | 339.0 (17) | 44 (23) | +20 (1) |
| Saints | 19.0 (4) | 194.1 (2) | 111.6 (19) | 305.7 (4) | 49 (4) | 0 (14) |
The Saints have some pretty solid advantages here. Seattle's passing offense ranked among the worst in the NFL in yards during the regular year, compiling an average of just 154.5 in its last four regular season games.
Meanwhile, New Orleans was just one of two teams that gave up less than 200 passing yards per game during the regular year.
If New Orleans can contain Marshawn Lynch and the ground game, it might be able to force Russell Wilson into some mistakes in the passing game. The issue with that is Seattle finished in the top five of the NFL in rushing yards, while the Saints finished in the bottom half of the NFL against the run.
New Orleans lost two of its best defensive backs in the form of Kenny Vaccaro and Jabari Greer to season-ending injuries during the regular season. Look for Wilson to try to exploit that with Zach Miller and Golden Tate in the passing game.
Key Matchups
Seahawks Pass Protection vs Saints Front Seven: Rob Ryan really did a great job in his first season as the Saints' defensive coordinator, taking a unit that was one of the worst in league history last season and making it an upper-echelon defense this year. They ranked fourth in the NFL in sacks with Junior Galette and Cameron Jordan combining for 24.5 by themselves. Seattle's pass protection has been a major question mark this year, mainly due to injuries to both Max Unger and Russell Okung, both of whom will play in this one. If Seattle can protect Wilson, he should be able to do damage against an injury-ravaged secondary. If not, we could be looking at a couple key turnovers.
Terron Armstead vs Chris Clemons and Cliff Avril: New Orleans made the decision to insert Armstead into the starting lineup back in Week 16, and it hasn't been tood bad. The rookie from Arkansas Pine-Bluff has, however, allowed four sacks and six quarterback hurries in three starts. He will be tasked with protecting Brees' blindside against a duo in Clemons and Avril that combined for 14 sacks and 56 quarterback hurries. Talk about going up against a difficult task on the road at The Link. Wow!
Marshawn Lynch vs Saints Run Defense: As I mentioned before, if New Orleans can find a way to stop Lynch on the ground, it could make a real game out of this one. The issue here is that it ranks in the bottom 10 of the NFL against the run and is going up against Beast Mode himself. Not exactly the best of matchups for the road-tripping Saints. New Orleans is giving up just 80 yards on the ground in its last three games, so there is something working in its favor.
Statistical Leaders
New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees: 68.6 completion, 5,162 passing yards, 42 total touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 104.7 rating
Pierre Thomas: 549 rushing yards, 77 receptions, 513 receiving yards and five total touchdowns
Marques Colston: 75 receptions, 943 yards and five touchdowns
Kenny Stills: 32 receptions, 645 yards and five touchdowns
Jimmy Graham: 86 receptions, 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson: 63.1 completion, 3,357 passing yards, 539 rushing yards, 27 total touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 101.2 rating.
Marshawn Lynch: 1,257 rushing yards, 4.2 average, 36 receptions, 316 yards and 14 total touchdowns
Golden Tate: 64 receptions, 898 yards and five touchdowns
Doug Baldwin: 50 receptions, 778 yards and five touchdowns
Zach Miller and Luke Willson: 53 receptions, 659 yards and six touchdowns