Defense doesn’t come to mind when speaking of the Saints, and they were fortunate enough to score more points than the defensively-challenged Lions last week. Fast forward to the present, and New Orleans has a tough challenge against San Francisco’s highly-regarded stop unit. Scoring points and running the football are two aspects of the game opposing teams had trouble doing against the 49ers this season, and that’s something the Saints will be trying to achieve early on Saturday. They have won the last six matchups with the 49ers, averaging 31 points per game in that time, but must protect the football considering San Francisco led the league with a plus-28 turnover differential. Brees said he has no qualms about playing outdoors on the West Coast, but observers should expect a drop-off in offensive stats in this one. That being said, it will be Brees who leads the Saints into their third NFC Championship Game in the last six years. He’ll have some defensive help, too, since Gore is the only true offensive threat for the 49ers.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Saints 24, 49ers 17
Current Odds – New Orleans -3.5

New Orleans: 13-3 SU, 12-4 ATS
San Francisco: 13-3 SU, 11-4-1 ATS

New Orleans most recently:
When playing in January are 5-5
When playing on grass are 7-3
After outgaining opponent are 8-2
When playing outside the division are 9-1

San Francisco most recently:
When playing in January are 6-4
When playing on grass are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 5-5
When playing outside the division are 8-2

A few trends to consider:
New Orleans is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
New Orleans is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Francisco
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 5 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Francisco’s last 5 games when playing at home against New Orleans
San Francisco is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
San Francisco is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games at home

Some content comes from both Sports Network and Chalk