NFL Playoff Bracket: Why the Saints and the Patriots Will Face off in Indy

Here's the scene:

It's Feb. 5, 2012, and you're just returning from the grocery store with enough chips and dip to feed the 20 guests you're having at your house. (Did you really think I would say "army?" That would be SO many chips...)

Anyway, you have an order of wings and some subs being delivered from your favorite local joint, and you are pumped to watch the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots face off at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in the 46th Super Bowl. 

But how, you ask, did we get here?

Well...

The Saints beat the Detroit Lions on Saturday, Jan. 7 during Wild Card Weekend. The game, billed as the weekend's most exciting, was close for a quarter and a half, but then the Saints pulled away due to their powerful passing game and added ability to run the football with Darren Sproles. Drew Brees threw five touchdown passes, and the Saints wrecked the Lions 48-28 to advance as the No. 3 seed. 

Also on the Saturday of Wild Card Weekend, the young Cincinnati Bengals beat the Houston Texans—in Houston, nonetheless. In a sloppy game, rookie quarterback Andy Dalton stayed pretty composed, throwing only one pick to Johnathan Joseph. Dalton found Jerome Simpson and Jermaine Gresham for touchdowns, Cedric Benson ran a third in, and the Bengals topped the Texans 24-20. 

The next day, the New York Giants ousted the Atlanta Falcons in a defensive battle. The Giants sacked Matt Ryan four times and won the game 23-20. Matty Ice remains winless in the playoffs, and Victor Cruz salsa-danced—I mean, scored—twice in the game.

Later that day, in a highly publicized game, the Pittsburgh Steelers shut down the Denver Broncos, but didn't do much else. The badly injured Steelers won 9-3 in Denver, proving once again that their defense can make up for their lack of offense. Tim Tebow completed three of his 10 attempted passes.

A week passed, normal procedure, and the divisional round of games were underway. The Saints bought themselves a vacation to San Francisco to take on the 49ers, where their offense proved too much, even for the incredibly suffocating San Francisco defense. Brees threw three touchdown passes, including that sick one to Marques Colston in the corner of the end zone. The Saints narrowly edged the 49ers, 21-19. 

In beating the Texans, the Bengals bought themselves a ticket to Foxboro. The New England Patriots beat them 35-10. I think I fell asleep during that game.

The four-seeded Giants got what everybody thought was the worst consolation prize for their first-round win; they had to go to Green Bay and take on the Packers in their house. In an exciting rematch of the regular season game where the Packers narrowly beat the Giants 38-35, the Giants played with a chip on their shoulders. The whole country was surprised when time ticked off the clock and the Pack had lost 36-31. Wasn't that awesome?!

Finally, the Steelers had to take on their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, in Maryland. Although it wasn't pretty, the Steelers found a way to win, like they so often do. Pittsburgh edged the Ravens 16-13, although Ben Roethlisberger still hobbled around more than a crippled old man.

After another work week went by, the Saints finally took on the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. The Saints looked pumped coming out of the gate in their home city, and they never really slowed down. They scored the first two touchdowns, and despite letting the Giants come within one score of them in the fourth, the Saints won 41-28 as the confetti fell in NoLa.

In the AFC Championship Game, the Steelers were facing the New England Patriots in a game we have seen so many times before. It was a classic, one for the ages. Big Ben vs. Tom Brady. Steelers vs Pats. We've seen this game go both ways, but in the end, the Patriots offense was just too much. Better said, the Steelers offense just wasn't enough. The Patriots won 27-18.

So here you have it, the New England Patriots are taking on the New Orleans Saints in Indianapolis. Honestly, after almost seeing the NFL season slip away from us, we can't be much happier with this game. We have two great quarterbacks leading two explosive offenses in the most storied game ever. By the end of the first quarter, you have wing sauce on your shirt and smile on your face.

Who wins, you ask?

Patriots, 27-24...in overtime.