High-Flying Cardinals Head to New Orleans for Showdown With Saints

Who: Arizona Cardinals (11-6, NFC West Champions) at the New Orleans Saints (13-3, NFC South Champions)

When: Saturday, Jan. 16 4:30 p.m. FOX

Where: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA

Line: New Orleans by 7

Why Watch: Arizona comes in after a wild 51-45 overtime win over Green Bay last weekend. Quarterback Kurt Warner played a nearly flawless game, going 29-for-33 for 379 yards and five touchdown passes.

However, perhaps the most important factor that came out of the game was the development of a second and third receiver for the Cardinals if Anquan Boldin can't go this week.

Steve Breaston posted a career-high 125 yards, while second-year receiver Early Doucet came out of nowhere with 77 yards and two touchdowns. Doucet only had 214 yards and one touchdown the entire season.

While the offensive statistics looked good, the opposite happened for the defense.

Despite scoring the winning touchdown in overtime, the Cardinals defense looked vulnerable yet again, allowing 45 points and 493 yards in the game. They also blew a 31-10 second half lead—obviously not a good sign.

The defense will have to shape up in order to control the high-powered New Orleans offense.

In just three weeks, the Saints went from world beaters to the good ol' 'Aints.

After weeks of close calls, the Saints finally lost at home to the Cowboys 24-17 in Week 15.

The free fall began.

Scoring no less than 24 points in their first 13 games, the Saints did not score more than 17 in the final three games. Nevertheless, New Orleans still boasts the best offense in the league, averaging 31 points and 404 yards per game.

Within the first six games, the Saints had topped 45 points in four of these games.

The reason for the success lies in the hands of quarterback Drew Brees, who had another career year with 4,388 yards and 34 touchdowns. His main target has been Hofstra-product Marques Colston, who gained 1,074 yards and nine touchdowns on the season.

Surprisingly, the Saints also had the sixth-best rushing offense in the league, averaging 131 yards per game. Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas combined for 1,447 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

And don't forget about the always dangerous Reggie Bush. 

This game could be a repeat performance of the Arizona/Green Bay game from last week in the points department. The Saints will have the advantage of playing at home, where  they don't lose very often.

This one should be a fun one to watch and should be a great start to Divisional Playoff weekend.

Prediction: New Orleans 38, Arizona 35