The Eagles and Saints will meet again Sunday in the only regular-season rematch in the NFL divisional playoff round. The first game, also in New Orleans, in Week 11, wasn't much of a contest.
The Saints dominated from wire to wire in a 48-7 rout. Eagles quarterback Nick Foles will try to continue to reverse fortunes, as that marked one of the worst games in the young career of Carson Wentz.
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Foles has more in common with counterpart Drew Brees than just their being Super Bowl MVP-winning QBs. They both wear No. 9 on their jerseys, and each is an alumnus of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.
A lot of will be on Foles again after the Eagles' No. 28 rushing attack sputtered in the wild-card round against the Bears; the Saints finished as the No. 2 run defense in the regular season. In the November meeting, the Saints out-gained the Eagles 546-196 with both Brees and their running game doing whatever they wanted.
The Eagles are the reigning Super Bowl champions, and the Saints are the heavy Super Bowl favorites. New Orleans tried to deliver the knockout blow to Philadelphia two months ago, but in true Rocky fashion, the Eagles have played their underdog card again to get another shot. Will there be more of Foles’ magic, or will Brees begin the march for his long-desired second ring?
Here is how Sporting News' NFL experts see the game playing out.
NFL playoff picks: Eagles at Saints
- Date, time: Sun., Jan. 13, 4:40 p.m. ET
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.
- TV: FOX
- Odds: Saints -8; Total: 50.5
Vinnie Iyer: The Eagles managed a road victory against a good defensive team in Chicago. They will need to score a lot more points to do the same in New Orleans. Foles will once again be called upon to make every clutch pass play in a one-dimensional offense, as Philadelphia will keep struggling to run the ball with former Saint Darren Sproles and others.
Brees and the Saints will go after big pass plays to build a significant lead, and they can close the game with plenty of effective touches for Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. The Saints have a strong inside-outside pass rush to get after Foles, and their coverage is built to slow down his top two targets, Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz.
The Saints are better rested and better balanced, and they play their best when it counts in the Superdome. They remember the heartbreak of the “Minneapolis Miracle” in the divisional playoff road loss last season and don’t want that same feeling of disappointment with a much better overall team this season.
Brees and Sean Payton won’t be denied as they make sure Foles and Doug Pederson fall two steps short of their quest to repeat.
Pick: Saints, 33-20
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Tadd Haislop: To suggest this game will play out the same way it did in November, when these teams met in New Orleans, would be ludicrous. A score of 48-7 in an NFL game is the definition of a fluke; that kind of talent gap between two given teams in this league simply does not exist. Everything went right for the Saints that day, and just about everything went wrong for the Eagles.
So maybe New Orleans won't blow out Philadelphia in the divisional playoffs, but the Saints are heavy favorites for good reasons.
Before the season, SN picked the Saints to win Super Bowl 53 on the basis of their complete roster. The offense is loaded. The defense is stacked. The special teams are sound. And, oh yeah, the QB is the NFL's all-time passing yards leader. The apparent magic of a Foles-led Eagles team in the postseason can only take them so far.
The Saints, especially at home, are simply too good.
Pick: Saints, 31-13
