The home teams won by wide margins in the first day of the NFL postseason, but that’s where the similarities end.
The Saints showed, once again, that they may be the toughest out in the NFL after last night’s 45-28 victory over the Lions. No matter where they play. In the AFC, the Texans celebrated after running away with a 31-10 victory over the Bengals.
The self-congratulatory talk following Houston’s win can be taken two ways.
The positive spin is that the Texans have gone as far as anyone could have expected after losing their quarterback, Matt Schaub, in November. Pressure’s off. They’ll be a dangerous team playing with house money next week against the Ravens.
The negative side to the coin is that they are well aware that they have gone as far as they can go. And that there will be no more chances to celebrate after beating Cincinnati yesterday.
I thought Houston was shaping up as the best team in the AFC before Schaub went down. All-world wide receiver Andre Johnson’s hamstring eventually would heal, the defense was playing at a top level and improving, while the running game behind Arian Foster and Ben Tate was clicking.
Who knows if Matt Leinart would have made a difference if he had stayed healthy, but third-string T.J. Yates has taken this club as far as he can. He’s Trent Dilfer of the Super Bowl champion Ravens of years ago, trying not to screw up. The trouble is, Houston’s defense is good – better than good, actually – but it’s nowhere close to the one that led Baltimore to its championship.
The city of Houston congratulated its football team yesterday on a job well done, winning a division and a playoff game with a third-string QB at the helm for much of it. But the Texans will be in for a fight next week in Baltimore. Maybe one they can’t win. And they know it.
The Saints will travel next week to San Francisco, where they will find the polar opposites of the Lions. The 49ers are composed and disciplined on defense, but they can be offensively challenged.
New Orleans showed it had too much firepower for Detroit to keep up with it through four quarters. A half, yes. Four quarters, no.
So if San Francisco is to beat the Saints next week, its offense will have to convert turnovers into points and control the ball. It must avoid three-and-outs, because Drew Brees and company will score and score again. You have to limit their possessions, not add to them.
The 49ers have been outstanding against the run this season, and that will help. (New Orleans had both its running and passing games going last night, and we saw how that turned out for Detroit.) But San Francisco will have to be at its very best to slow down this offensive juggernaut, which has so many weapons.
Control the ball on the ground with Frank Gore and a short passing game, stop Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles out of the New Orleans backfield, take away some of Brees’ multiple targets and convert turnovers into points.
If last night is any indicator, that may be too tall an order for anyone to fill this season. Green Bay included.