NFL Playoff Bracket 2012: Why 49ers vs. Saints Is Weekend's Best Game

This week's divisional playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints represents a clash between two distinct philosophies in the NFL—one being that elite quarterback play and a high-scoring offense is the only way to a Super Bowl championship and the other being that an extremely strong defense coupled with a smart offensive strategy is how to win it all.

So, does defense win championships, or are we firmly in the era where teams are required to air it out for hundreds of yards per game in order to be considered dominant?

That question will be one step closer to answered once Saturday's Saints-Niners contest comes to an end, as the league's top offense faces the conference's best defense with the winner heading to the NFC championship game.

The Saints averaged 334.2 passing yards and 132.9 rushing yards per game this season, while the Niners gave up an average of 230.9 yards in the air and just 77.3 on the ground. Given this disparity, it's clear that the Saints offense will be relying heavily on their record-shattering quarterback Drew Brees rather than their three-headed running attack.

But that may not be so. Saints running back Darren Sproles is such a versatile player it's hard to limit him by calling him a ball-carrier. He's fast, elusive, small yet strong and has transformed the Saints this year from the Brees Show into a more complete team.

The two touchdowns and 88 total yards Sproles contributed to the Saints' winning effort over the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round is but another example of just what a difference his addition to the team has made this year. He will have to factor in heavily this week if the Saints are to confound the Niners' powerful defense.

The Saints cannot rest too confidently in putting Saturday's game in Brees' hands and hoping that his regular-season magic will continue. The 49ers defense leads the league in takeaways, with 23 interceptions and 20 forced fumbles (with 15 recoveries) in the 2011 regular season.

Though Brees has just 14 interceptions to 46 touchdowns, he's had five games this year with two or more picks. The Niners are adept at creating turnovers this year, so even for all his accuracy, Brees isn't guaranteed to have a flawless outing even in this most important game.

New Orleans suffered quite the upset loss in last year's playoffs, falling to the 7-9 NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks, 41-36. Though Brees threw for over 400 yards and three scores, the Saints defense couldn't stop Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, nor quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

Even with a stellar effort from Brees, it's clear that it can prove to be not enough when it comes to the playoffs. Combine that with the fact that Brees has already shown vulnerability to pressure this season, in his team's 31-21 loss to the St. Louis Rams in Week 8, and the Niners aren't as big of underdogs as they first appear.

On offense, the 49ers aren't flashy. They run a conservative passing game that never rests too much responsibility on quarterback Alex Smith and his arm. Instead, they run to set up the pass, with running back Frank Gore providing those much-needed yards on the ground.

But Smith isn't without his receiving weapons. Tight end Vernon Davis and wide receivers Michael Crabtree, Kyle Williams and Ted Ginn might not be as explosive as those surrounding Brees, but with solid regular-season performances by Smith, they've each had good years.

If San Francisco can control the clock by running the ball effectively when on offense and keeping Brees off the field while on defense, the Niners have a good chance to defeat the Saints in a supposedly old-fashioned ground-and-pound manner.

Considering what it would take for them to do so makes this game so compelling. The Saints haven't seen a defense as strong as San Francisco's, and San Francisco has yet to play an offensive powerhouse like the Saints.

Every on-field matchup in this game is worth attention and every possession will tell us more about these two teams' overall strengths and weaknesses, more than any other game they've played this year or any other game scheduled for this weekend.

This Saints-49ers contest is a mismatch, but it's not lopsided and, upon examination, doesn't clearly favor one squad over another. In a battle of bruising defense versus big-play offense, it doesn't get much better than this game.