Marquee matchup
Riding an offense that’s been virtually unstoppable for the past nine games, the New Orleans Saints are just one victory away from reaching the NFC Championship game for the third time in six seasons.
But after running the table in the second half of the regular season and continuing to roll with an easy win over the Detroit Lions in an NFC wild-card playoff game at home last week, the Saints face their toughest test in a while Saturday.
With all due respect to the other six teams left in the postseason, arguably the marquee matchup of the weekend will take place in Candlestick Park at 3:30 p.m. Saturday when the Saints (14-3) and San Francisco 49ers (13-3) meet in an NFC Divisional Playoff game.
The Saints, who had the NFL’s most productive offense this season, will face the 49ers, which had one of the stingiest defenses in the league under rookie coach Jim Harbaugh, with a berth in the NFC title game on the line.
While the main story lines this week centered on the 49ers being in the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and the Saints trying to secure the franchise’s first road playoff win, the Saints offense and Niners defense will take center stage Saturday.
“I think it’s more of a competitive nature of what we do, and it’s exciting,” Saints coach Sean Payton said of the matchup. “When you get into this round of the playoffs, all of these teams are good.
“They’re successful and they’ve played well all year,” he said of a San Francisco team that turned things around quickly under Harbaugh, much like Payton’s Saints did in his first season in 2006. “We’re all looking forward to the next challenge, the challenge in front of you.”
While it’s quite a challenge for the Saints, the same can be said for the 49ers.
Both teams will be fighting to advance and either play at Green Bay against the top-seeded Packers, or host the NFC Championship game on Jan,. 22 if the Packers fall to the New York Giants on Sunday.
If they’re to get that far, the Saints offense and 49ers defense will likely have to continue their stellar play.
The Saints led the league with an NFL single-season record of 7,474 total yards and scored 30 or more points in 10 of their 16 games in addition to topping the 40-point mark six times.
On the flip side, the 49ers ranked fourth in total defense at 308.2 yards a game.
They led the league, however, in allowing 77.3 rushing yards a game and were second in giving up 14.3 points while holding 12 opponents to 20 points or less.
They also became the first team in NFL history to not allow a rushing touchdown in the first 14 games of a season and eventually gave up just three — the fewest in a 16-game season.
“They’ve been very consistent,” Payton said. “They’re physical and they’re very disciplined. When you watch the film, they’re very good tacklers, and they’re opportunistic.”
It’s not all about rushing defense for the 49ers, who had three first-team All-Pro picks in inside linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman and defensive tackle Justin Smith.
They effectively pressure the quarterback and had 42 sacks, which helped them to a league-leading plus-28 on the giveaway-takeaway chart. They tied for most takeaways with 38 — including 23 interceptions.
“They get their hands on passes, and they have good ball skills on the back end,” Payton said. “They have a slew of takeaways. The effort, the tackling, the fundamentals … it’s impressive week in and week out when you watch them play.”
Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is certainly impressed by what 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a former Saints assistant who came along with Harbaugh from Stanford, has accomplished so far.
“I have a lot of respect for what they’ve been able to do,” Williams said. “I’ve been in the league a long time and have gone up against a lot of good defenses, but we understand here probably as well as I’ve been anywhere on how to play as a team.”
“They’re doing everything defensively that you’d preach to your guys,” said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who has led his team to 505.2 total yards and 36.9 points a game in the nine-game winning streak. “This is one of those matchups when you look from last year to this year in terms of a confidence standpoint, they’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
While the passing game makes the Saints offense go, one of the big keys will be if they can get a running game that ranked sixth with 132.9 yards a game going against the Niners, who give up just 3.5 yards a carry, to loosen up the back end for the pass.
“I think for both teams, defensively and offensively, trying to win the run game battle is an important element to this game,” Payton said, noting that the 49ers ranked eighth in rushing. We’re seeing what we feel is a very good team rushing the football as well as defending the run.
“The challenge for us both defensively and offensively is matching that and having success on the early downs to avoid the third-and-long situations.”
The 49ers have done a good job in protecting quarterback Alex Smith, a former No. 1 overall draft pick, and helping him progress.
With Frank Gore rushing for 1,211 yards and eight touchdowns and rookie Kendall Hunter adding 473 yards, Smith hasn’t been asked to do too much and responded by completing 61.3 percent of his passes for 3,144 yards with 17 TDs and only five interceptions.
“When you look at their combination of running game and play-action pass, his comfort level in what they’re doing is evident,” Payton said. “He’s been a player that you’ve seen a ton of improvement with in just one year, and it’s pretty amazing.”