The four teams left in the NFC all have ties to the NFC West. New Orleans and Carolina were both in that division for years, and Seattle and San Francisco are in there now. They also all have good defenses. In the regular season, these teams allowed fewer points than any of other team in the league.
The Seahawks ranked 1st, giving up only 14.4 per game. Carolina was just behind them, at 15.1. San Francisco finished 3rd, giving up 17.0, and New Orleans was next at 19.0.
The league's other 28 teams all allowed more than 19 points per game.
It is easy to see the Carolina-San Francisco turning into a 19-16 type slugfest. Carolina won 10-9 when these teams met at Candlestick earlier in the year.
But the game between Seattle and New Orleans also could be of the lower-scoring variety. Those teams have been better offensively than the Panthers and 49ers, but New Orleans has struggled away from home all year, and Seattle has sputtered recently -- just 7 TDs in its last four games.
Historically, we know that when two defenses ranked in the top 5 meet in the playoffs, it's usually a defensive game.
It's happened six times in the last 10 years. Carolina-Chicago (back in 2005) made it up to 50 points. The Steelers and Jets reached 43. The other four have all been under 40.
| Top-5 Defenses Meeting in Playoffs | |
|---|---|
| Year | Result |
| 2005 | Carolina 29, at Chicago 21 |
| 2008 | Philadelphia 23, at NY Giants 11 |
| 2008 | at Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 14 |
| 2009 | NY Jets 24, at Cincinnati 14 |
| 2010 | at Pittsburgh 24, NY Jets 19 |
| 2011 | at Baltimore 20, Houston 13 |
| 2013 | New Orleans at Seattle |
| 2013 | San Francisco at Carolina |
--Ian Allan