The Detroit Lions have waited 12 long years for the opportunity they'll be receiving this weekend, though the team's sorely- anticipated return to the playoffs could be a short stay if its defense duplicates its most recent performance.
The ascending Lions face a second consecutive tough assignment in the form of the high-flying and high-scoring New Orleans Saints, with the two prolifically pass-efficient clubs set to square off Saturday in the Superdome in an NFC First-Round Playoff that figures to deliver no shortage of offensive fireworks.
Detroit ended over a decade's worth of frustration by breaking through with a 10-6 record over the course of the regular season, the long-suffering franchise's highest victory total since 1995 and first winning mark since 2000. That restored prominence came about in large part due to a dangerous offense that established franchise records for total yards (6,337), passing yards (4,814) and points (474) in a single year, with rising-star quarterback Matthew Stafford producing only the fifth campaign of over 5,000 yards through the air in NFL history.
But as good as the Lions were on that of the ball, they'll still be entering Saturday's high-stakes tilt as the statistically-inferior unit. That's because the Saints generated more total yards than any team ever in matching the similarly-potent 2009 Super Bowl champion squad for the most pre-playoff wins in a season by the organization.
The 2011 Saints accumulated an astounding 7,474 total yards and 5,347 net passing yards en route to their 13-3 record, eclipsing the 2000 St. Louis Rams of the famed "Greatest Show on Turf" era for the most in league annals for a season. Most of the damage came on the deadly-accurate right arm of quarterback Drew Brees, with the fiery veteran racking up 5,476 yards over the 16-game schedule to shatter Hall of Famer Dan Marino's NFL standard that had stood for 27 seasons.
Brees threw for over 300 yards for the seventh straight contest to help New Orleans close out its banner regular season with a bang. Last Sunday's 45-17 shellacking of the Carolina Panthers was the Saints' eighth win in a row, and the team established a new single-game high with its 617-yard outburst.
New Orleans has recorded over 435 yards of offense in each of its last six triumphs, including a 438-yard display in a 31-17 besting of the Lions at the Superdome on Dec. 4. Brees ended that night with 342 yards and three touchdowns and no turnovers while completing a crisp 26-of-36 attempts.
"I think we're playing with momentum right now," said Saints head coach Sean Payton when asked if his team is in the midst of its best stretch of his six- year tenure as head coach. "I think we've gotten some takeaways here and we have some key stops [on defense]. I would avoid the blanket statements like that. I would say this season we're playing as good as we [ever] have."
The Lions had rebounded nicely from that Week 13 setback in New Orleans by ripping off three straight wins to officially end their playoff drought, but had a rougher time in last Sunday's finale at NFC top seed Green Bay. The Detroit defense was lit up for 480 yards and a Packers-record six touchdown passes by talented reserve signal-caller Matt Flynn as the reigning world champions came out ahead in an action-filled 45-41 thriller that dropped the Lions into the conference's sixth and final playoff position to set up Saturday's daunting matchup.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/04/2573608/nfl-playoff-preview-detroit-10.html
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