NFL Playoff Predictions: Saints Will Cruise into Showdown with 49ers

The first round of the NFC playoffs will give us one of the more intriguing, high-scoring games of the entire playoffs. The Detroit Lions will travel south to take on the New Orleans Saints. The Lions will score points, but won't come anywhere near defeating Drew Brees and the Saints.

In New Orleans, the Saints are unbeatable. They score a lot of points, and Brees is another world. He has no shortage of weapons to throw the ball to, and the Lions don't have the secondary to compete with those weapons. 

On the other side of the ball, the Saints will have to figure out a way to stop Calvin Johnson. Well, there is no stopping Johnson, but the Saints will do more than enough on defense to win this game easily by the time it's all said and done. 

When the two teams played in Week 13, we saw something against Johnson that you almost never see. When the Lions were in position to score, the Saints lined up two defensive backs on Johnson. This wasn't a traditional double-team. They actually lined two men directly against Johnson, like a gunner on a punt. 

The reason for that was simple. They were daring Matthew Stafford and the Lions to use other players to beat them. 

The reason for that is that when you're an underdog, you need to have one player that dominates the game. He'll take the game over, and leave no answer. For the Lions, the only man who can do that is Johnson. 

Without Johnson, they have a good enough offense to put points up, but it won't be nearly what the Saints do. 

The Saints have a ton of weapons, and they're going against a secondary that leaves an awful lot to be desired. Drew Brees will find the open man every time he's there.

The best chance the Lions have on defense is to get a good rush on Brees, but here's the problem with that. Their defensive line is 100 percent geared to get to the quarterback. They do not focus on the run at all. The Saints have plenty of rushing options to exploit that. 

There will just be too many weapons in this one. The Lions depend too much on Johnson and a great pass rush. Outside of that, they are often exploited. 

The Saints will earn a date at Candlestick Park with the 49ers, in a fascinating matchup of two contrasting teams. The Lions are good, but they are a year away.

Prediction: Saints 37, Lions 24

Follow @mdixon1985