Saints vs Seahawks Betting Line

The New Orleans Saints (11-5) finished in 2^nd place this season in the NFC South behind the Atlanta Falcons. Their situation isn’t ideal, but it was good enough to get them into the 2011 NFL playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks (7-9) beat the St. Louis Rams in week 17 to steal the NFC West title, giving them home field advantage over the 11-5 Saints. Not only are the Seahawks the first NFL team in a 16 game season to make the playoffs with a record below .500 – but they also get to play at home. Doesn’t sound fair does it? Regardless, the game will be played this Saturday at 4:30PM EST in Seattle at Qwest Stadium.

Saints vs Seahawks Wild Card Betting Line

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2011 NFC Wild Card – Saints vs Seahawks Analysis

The Seahawks slipped into the 2011 NFL playoffs with one of the worst offenses and defenses in the league. Seattle only scored an average of 19.4 PPG this season, which is 23^rd worst in the league, while the Saints rank 11^th with an average of 24 PPG.

The Saints will rely on Drew Brees and their 3^rd ranked passing offense that averages a whopping 277.6 YPG. New Orleans will have Reggie Bush and Chris Ivory back this week, and that should take some of the load off of Brees. Seattle hasn’t been able to do anything on offense this season whether Hasselbeck or Whitehurst is playing, and I don’t see them improving much this week. Seattle ranks 31^st in the league in rushing (89 YPG) and 19^th in the league in passing (208.8 YPG).

Surprisingly, the Saints managed to develop into one of the best defenses in the league. They still have their problems at times, but they’ve built the 4^th best passing defense (193.9 YPG) and they also rank 7^th in points allowed with an average of only 19.2 PPG. New Orleans has been suspect against the run this season, as they give up an average of 112.3 rushing YPG, which is ranked 16^th in the league. The good news for Saints backers is that the Seahawks haven’t been able to run over anyone this season.

Seattle on the other hand has one of the worst defenses in the league and that isn’t a good thing when you’re going against an offense as potent as the Saints. The Seahawks give up an average of 25.4 PPG (25^th in league), 249.6 passing YPG (27^th in league) and 118.9 rushing YPG (21^st in league). These two teams played once this season in week 11 and the Saints ended up winning the game 34-19, as Brees shredded the Seahawks for 382 passing yards and 4 TD’s.

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New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks Key Match-Ups

Drew Brees vs. Seahawks Passing Defense

The last time these two teams met, Drew Brees was able to throw for 382 passing yards and 4 TD’s to secure a blowout victory at the dome in week 11. If Seattle wants to have any shot of winning this game they need to keep Brees under 350 yards and 2 TD’s or else they’re going to be in trouble. Seattle kept the Rams out of the endzone when it counted last week at Qwest, but it’s going to take an even better effort against the 3^rd best passing offense in the NFL.

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Seahawks Rushing Offense vs. Saints Rushing Defense

As mentioned above, the Seattle Seahawks have one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL, but the Saints have had trouble stopping the run and give up an average of 112.3 rushing YPG. If Marshawn Lynch, Justin Forsett or Leon Washington can get things going on the ground against the Saints this week, it could change the scope of the entire game. Not only will that keep Brees off the field longer, but it’ll also open up passing lanes for Seattle receivers.

NFC Wild Card – New Orleans Saints vs Seattle Seahawks Prediction

Seattle has a slim chance of winning this game in my opinion, but the fact the game is being played at Qwest could help them out. New Orleans is better on both sides of the ball and their offense is leaps & bounds better then the pitiful Seahawks offense. The –10.5 point spread is a little high and I’m going to wait and see if I can get –10 as we get closer to game time. As the line changes at each online sportsbook, we’ll update this post.

If you want the points, take Seattle +11 at Bodog.com.

New Orleans Saints & Seattle Seahawks – Week 17

Seattle needed a win in week 17 against the Rams in order to win the NFC West and earn a spot in the 2011 NFL playoffs. Whitehurst ended up starting the game in place of the injured Hasselbeck and he outplayed the young Bradford. The Rams couldn’t do much of anything on offense against the Seahawks defense and the game ended 16-6 in favor of Seattle. Lynch ran the ball 20 times for 75 yards and will need to do even better against the Saints rushing defense.

New Orleans didn’t need to win in week 17, and it was a good thing because they ended up losing to a hungry Bucs team to the tune of 23-13. The game wasn’t a confidence booster, but I don’t think it’s going to cause a problem for the Saints heading into the 2011 playoffs. The Saints pulled a few of their starters in the 4^th quarter against the Buccaneers so they should be prepared for the Seahawks this Saturday. Bush and Ivory both ran the ball well against Tampa Bay and they combined for 103 yards on the ground on only 16 carries.