Saints vs. 49ers: Why Drew Brees Will Shred San Francisco's Defense

As he showed again on Saturday, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is playing absolutely out of his mind right now. After throwing for 466 yards and three touchdowns on the Detroit Lions in the Saints' 45-28 Wild Card win, Brees looks as good as ever.

This weekend the Saints travel to San Francisco to take on the 13-3 San Francisco 49ers and while Jim Harbaugh's team has played very well this season, New Orleans looks like a virtual lock to reach the NFC title game.

The Saints have won nine straight games, and if anything, they looked the best they have all season on Saturday against the Lions. New Orleans finished the season with the NFL's top-ranked offense, averaging an incredible 467.1 yards per game.

In addition to that, the Saints boast the top-ranked passing attack (334.2 yards per game), sixth-ranked rushing offense (132.9 yards per game) and are second in scoring (34.2 points per game).

The 49ers will try to slow the game down and control the clock with their running game. The problem is, they'll have to slow down Brees with their 16th-ranked passing offense (allowing 230.9 yards per game). 

Brees has done an outstanding job of spreading the ball around to his weapons this season. Six players on the Saints caught 50 or more passes during the regular season, while Jimmy Graham (99), Darren Sproles (86) and Marques Colston (80) all had more than 80 receptions. 

While the 49ers have done a great job defensively this season, Brees and the Saints have too much firepower for San Francisco to shut down. To play with New Orleans, the 49ers will need to be able to score with them. I just don't see that happening. 

Brees will continue to carve up the opposition, and the Saints will continue to roll.