Saints vs. Lions: Why Saints Are Only NFC Team That Can Stop the Packers

The 2011 New Orleans Saints are starting to look pretty familiar. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they look more and more like the 2009 Saints with each passing week.

If you missed what happened in 2009, take my word for it that this is a good thing.

If you missed what happened on Sunday night, too, you missed the Saints take care of the Detroit Lions with relative ease. Drew Brees threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and the Saints won 31-17 to run their record to 9-3.

At this point, winning the NFC South title is practically a foregone conclusion for the Saints. And if they keep playing the way they keep playing, the Saints are going to make some noise in the postseason.

If the Saints want to return to the Super Bowl, though, they're going to have to go through the Green Bay Packers. They may not finished undefeated, but it's safe to assume they're going to be the top seed in the NFC and the favorite to win it all.

The question will be who in the NFC can even hope to stop the Packers.

The 10-2 San Francisco 49ers are the obvious choice, but their one-dimensional offense would be doomed in a shootout against Aaron Rodgers and his merry band of pass-catchers.

The Dallas Cowboys? They're way too unpredictable.

The Atlanta Falcons? Please, the Packers showed us last year what they think of the Falcons.

The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions? At this point they should feel lucky they're breathing the same air as the Packers.

But the Saints? Now we're getting somewhere.

As many of us no doubt recall, the Saints and Packers met in the very first game of the season back on Sept. 8. The Packers seemed to have the game in control for the bulk of the proceedings, but they needed a goal-line stand to actually pull out a win.

You could argue that's the closest the Packers have come to losing all season, which should tell you just how good they've been.

In retrospect, it's not at all surprising that the Saints were able to hang with the Packers. A defense that can limit Rodgers and his merry band probably doesn't exist, but only the Saints have enough offense to match them stride for stride.

And make no mistake, as good as Rodgers is, Brees is right there with him. If it came to it, he could beat Rodgers in a shootout.

If these two teams were to meet up in the playoffs, it probably would come to that. The Saints' defense wouldn't pose much of a threat to the Packers' offense, and the Packers' defense wouldn't pose much of a threat to the Saints' offense.

It would be a true "last man standing wins" game. Just like their first meeting. 

The only real disadvantage for the Saints would be the fact that they would have to keep up with Rodgers and friends in the frozen confines of Lambeau Field. If the confines end up being really frozen, it's possible that neither Rodgers nor Brees would be able to find much success throwing the football.

Oddly enough, that's where the Saints would have an advantage. Very quietly, they have the league's No. 8 rushing attack, which could surely outpace Green Bay's No. 28 rushing attack.

To be sure, all of this is strictly hypothetical. Anything could happen, and all of this talk could end up be wasted words.

But as far as matchups go, the Packers and Saints stack up pretty evenly. The Saints lost Round 1 but they could easily win Round 2.

Until we get there, consider this food for thought.