Sharkonabicycle
Bipedal Sea Dog
I pull for the Saints once my Cowboys are out of it, simply because Brees is one of the best guys in the entire league. I just like the way we match up. What kills us is a QB that can break the pocket and run/throw the ball vs busted coverage. Wilson is great at that, the other guy that killed us, Luck, is a similar dude. Brees is great, but I would MUCH rather see him than Wilson. Brees isn't going anywhere in the pocket, which means our base set, which is press man under with a single high safety works well. He is a timing guy, not a cannon arm. If we can stop there run game again and crank up the pass rush, we will have a shot. Our offense is playing much better now as well
Dallas is IMO not anywhere close to being a 'lock' to lose the Saints game because Dallas has a good D. They do stop the run VERY well but so does Dallas and that was one of New Orleans' big things this year. For the record I see < 5% chance Philly knocks out Chicago. Phillies defense is terrible and Chicago is top 3 with a decent run game + home. Chicago winning means you go to Saints, hence my point.
New Orleans does NOT have the pass rush Seattle has either (one of the worst in the NFL), so Dak will have more time to throw. That said, Brees and the Saints do have better more established weapons than Seattle, so it'll be tougher on D. Dak has to make sure he doesn't throw stupid passes and turn the ball over to stay in the game, but it's entirely possible.
I put a HEAVY emphasis on teams with good defenses (if it wasn't already obvious). It's why I think the Chiefs will be a first played game playoff exit against the Colts. Colts can put up a TON of points on the pedestrian Chiefs D and the Colts D was close to top 10 this year....
I think that's the 'upset' of next week, but it would not surprise me.