The New Orleans Saints head to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs Saturday night. The game is scheduled for an 8:10 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on NBC. Currently the odds for the game have the Eagles favored by about a field goal at home in this one.
This is the second of two games Saturday night as the NFL Wild Card weekend kicks off. Philadelphia beat the Dallas Cowboys last week to clinch the NFC East title and now will host the New Orleans Saints in this opening weekend tilt.
The Eagles are favored in this game, which probably seems like a nightmare for the Saints. The game will be played at night, where it's going to be cold, probably snowy and just everything that New Orleans doesn't want to have to play in. But that's the reality of the playoffs. If the Saints want to play in the Super Bowl they'll have to play in awful conditions.
Philly struck gold this off season when they hired Chip Kelly from the University of Oregon and later when quarterback Nick Foles somehow became an All-World player. Somehow the college offense has translated well to the NFL, something many people didn't believe could happen.
The Eagles also sport the NFL's rushing leader with LeSean McCoy, who is very dangerous in the open field once he gets the football. New Orleans won 11 games this season, but stumbled to go just 3-5 away from the Mercedes SuperDome this year. The defense of the Saints has gotten much better and will be a big part of this game. However, when it comes to stopping the run New Orleans does allow opponents to average 4.6 yards per carry.
Foles has thrown 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season. That accuracy will be tested by the Saints' defense, which ranks fourth overall in the league. They'll have the tough task of slowing down an Eagles team that has averaged 32 points per game over their last eight contests.
Hard to believe it's taken this long to mention Drew Brees, but note his 39 touchdown passes and more than 5,000 yards passing. But they have struggled away from home — the Saints have covered just once in their eight road games and have averaged less than 14 points in their last four games away from home.
The Eagles defense has played well at times, but certainly isn't one of the best in the league. This could be one of those games where the team with the football last wins the game.
We'll take the Eagles at home in a cold atmosphere with expected windy conditions. Philly's defense will do just enough to get the win here in what should be an entertaining game.
Free Pick: Philadelphia 31, New Orleans 27
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