In the Payton-Brees Era, the Saints are 0-3 in road playoff games. But Drew Brees has thrown for over 350 yards in all three of those losses (at Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco). Now he gets to take on a Philadelphia defense that's a lot leakier than any of those.
The Eagles in the regular season came within 81 yards of setting the all-time record for most passing yards allowed. Only four teams ever have gone over 4,900 yards, and this is one of them.
We can't promise Brees will throw 3 TDs. He hasn't done that on the road all year (he's made it up to 2 TDs four times, and he's finished with 1 TD four times). Philadelphia allowed a respectable 25 TD passes, which is close to the league average.
But for yards, the Eagles give up plenty. Matt Cassel passed for 382 against this defense a few weeks back, and the Cowboys dusted off Kyle Orton, and he put up 348.
So Brees looks like a pretty safe bet to finish north of 300 yards (and 330-plus might be more likely).
| Defenses allowing 4,500+ passing yards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Yards |
| 2011 | Green Bay Packers | 4,988 |
| 2011 | New England Patriots | 4,977 |
| 2012 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4,951 |
| 2013 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4,907 |
| 2012 | New Orleans Saints | 4,875 |
| 2013 | Minnesota Vikings | 4,872 |
| 2013 | Dallas Cowboys | 4,835 |
| 1995 | Atlanta Falcons | 4,751 |
| 2012 | Washington Redskins | 4,720 |
| 1981 | San Diego Chargers | 4,695 |
| 2005 | San Francisco 49ers | 4,620 |
| 1985 | San Diego Chargers | 4,597 |
| 1986 | New York Jets | 4,567 |
| 2012 | New England Patriots | 4,555 |
| 2002 | San Diego Chargers | 4,526 |
| 1995 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4,512 |
| 2007 | Minnesota Vikings | 4,500 |
--Ian Allan