NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (12-5) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (13-3)
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (12-5) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (13-3)
WHEN: Saturday, 11:35 a.m., FOX
OPENING LINE: Seahawks by 8½ .
SERIES RECORD: Seahawks lead 7-6.
LAST MEETING: Seahawks beat Saints 34-7, Dec. 2, 2013.
LAST WEEK: Saints beat Eagles 26-24; Seahawks had a bye.
SAINTS OFFENSE: Overall (4), rush (25), pass (2)
SAINTS DEFENSE: Overall (4), rush (19), pass (2)
SEAHAWKS OFFENSE: Overall (17), rush (4), pass (26)
SEAHAWKS DEFENSE: Overall (1) Rush (7t), pass (1)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: Seahawks dominated Monday night matchup at home on Dec. 2, jumping out to a 27-7 halftime lead on way to 34-7 win. … The seven points matched fewest scored by Saints since Sean Payton became coach in 2006. … No. 6 seeds are 5-2 against No. 1 seeds in the divisional round since the playoffs after the 2005 season. … Saints finished second in NFL in yards passing and fourth in total offense. … QB Drew Brees threw for 250 yards and TD in win over Eagles. … Brees has three 400-yard passing games in the postseason, including 2010 game in Seattle. … Brees held to 147 yards passing in December loss to Seahawks. … RB Mark Ingram had 97 yards rushing and TD in win over Eagles. Was second-most by a Saints RB in playoff game. … Saints rushed for 185 yards in win over Eagles, second highest total all season. … TE Jimmy Graham had three receptions for 44 yards vs. Eagles. Was held to three catches for 42 yards in first game vs. Seahawks. … Saints lost LB Parys Haralson to torn pectoral in Eagles game. Fourth defensive starter lost since midseason due to injury. … CB Keenan Lewis (concussion) expected to play. … Seahawks have won five straight home playoff games. … Seahawks have won 15 of last 16 home games. … Only one starter on Seahawks roster — DT Tony McDaniel — has not played in a postseason game. … QB Russell Wilson was 22 of 30 for 310 yards and three touchdowns in first meeting with Saints. Had passer rating of 139.6, second best in his career. … Wilson threw for a career-high 385 yards and two touchdowns in last season’s divisional playoff loss to Atlanta. … Wilson is only player in NFL history with passer rating of 100 or more in first two seasons. … RB Marshawn Lynch finished regular season with career-high 14 total touchdowns. Only player in NFL with 1,000 yards rushing and at least 10 TDs rushing in past three seasons. … WR Percy Harvin may play in second game following hip surgery in August. … Seahawks finished regular season as leaders in pass defense (172 yards per game allowed) and interceptions (28). Previous two teams to lead the league in those categories — Tampa Bay (2002) and Miami (1982) — both reached the Super Bowl. … Seahawks only team in NFL not to allow opponent to score on opening drive all season. … CB Richard Sherman led NFL with eight interceptions. First Seahawks player to lead league in INTs since Eugene Robinson in 1993. … Seahawks without LB K.J. Wright (foot) who was largely responsible for defending Graham in December meeting.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (12-5) at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-4)
WHEN: Saturday, 3:15 p.m., CBS
OPENING LINE: Patriots by 7½
SERIES RECORD: Patriots lead 47-29
LAST MEETING: Patriots beat Colts 59-24, Nov. 18, 2012
LAST WEEK: Colts beat Chiefs 45-44, Patriots had bye
COLTS OFFENSE: Overall (15), rush (20t), pass (17)
COLTS DEFENSE: Overall (20), rush (26), pass (13)
PATRIOTS OFFENSE: Overall (7), rush (9), pass (10)
PATRIOTS DEFENSE: Overall (26), rush (30), pass (18)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: Patriots 2-1 vs. Colts in postseason, last meeting won by Indianapolis 38-34 in AFC championship game Jan. 21, 2007. … Second-seeded Patriots, fourth-seeded Colts each beat AFC No. 1 seed Denver in regular season. … Colts 11 postseason appearances since 2002 are most in NFL, Patriots have 10. … Colts overcame 38-10, third-quarter deficit to beat Chiefs in wild-card game, second biggest comeback victory ever in NFL playoffs. … WR T.Y. Hilton’s 13 receptions against Kansas City tied for second most in NFL postseason game. … QB Andrew Luck’s 443 yards passing and four TD throws vs. Chiefs both second most in team playoff history, behind Peyton Manning. … LB Robert Mathis led NFL with club record 19½ sacks, added sack of Alex Smith and forced fumble in playoff win over Chiefs, has 5½ postseason sacks. … Colts 536 net yards against Kansas City were postseason franchise record. … Indianapolis led NFL by committing fewest giveaways (14) and penalties (66). … Former Patriots second-round draft pick Darius Butler led Colts with four interceptions. … K Adam Vinatieri holds NFL postseason record with 49 field goals, 205 points in 10 seasons with Patriots, last eight with Colts. … Patriots trying to become first team since Eagles to reach at least three consecutive conference championship games. Philadelphia reached four straight in NFC from 2001-04. … Tom Brady seeking to extend his NFL record to 18 postseason wins by a starting quarterback, has most completions (553), attempts (887), yards passing (5,949) in NFL playoff history. … WR Julian Edelman’s 105 catches were fourth in NFL, totaled just 69 in other four NFL seasons. … RB LeGarrette Blount set franchise record with 334 all-purpose yards (189 rushing, 145 on two kickoff returns) in regular-season finale vs. Bills. … DT Chris Jones led NFL rookies with six sacks. DE Chandler Jones led Patriots with career-high 11 1-2 sacks. … Starting LB Brandon Spikes went on injured reserve Monday, joining three other key defenders on the list — Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly. … Patriots 8-0 at home this season, have 14-4 postseason record at home, second best in NFL. … CB Logan Ryan’s five interceptions tops among NFL rookies. … Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski led NFL with 158 points.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (13-4) at CAROLINA PANTHERS (12-4)
WHEN: Sunday, 8:05 a.m., Fox
OPENING LINE: 49ers by 2
RECORD VS. SPREAD: San Francisco 11-5-1, Carolina 9-7
SERIES RECORD: Panthers lead 11-7
LAST MEETING: Panthers beat 49ers 10-9 on Nov. 10, 2013
LAST WEEK: 49ers defeated Packers 23-20, Panthers had a bye
49ERS OFFENSE: Overall (24), rush (3), pass (30)
49ERS DEFENSE: Overall (5), rush (4), pass (7)
PANTHERS OFFENSE: Overall (26), rush (11), pass (29)
PANTHERS DEFENSE: Overall (2), rush (2), pass (6)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Panthers coach Ron Rivera were teammates with Chicago Bears. … Harbaugh is first coach to lead 49ers to playoffs in first three seasons. … QB Colin Kaepernick held to 91 yards passing and 16 yards rushing in 10-9 loss to Carolina on Nov. 10. … Kaepernick has career QB rating of 93.9 in postseason. … RB Frank Gore has franchise-record seven straight 1.000-yard rushing seasons. Gore averages 91.3 yards rushing in postseason with TD in past four playoffs games. … TE Vernon Davis has six TD receptions in six postseason games. … WR Michael Crabtree has 28 catches for 410 yards and three TDs in past four playoff games. … 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio worked for Panthers in 1990s. … Since 2011, LB Aldon Smith has 45.5 sacks since 2011, second-most in NFL. … Panthers lost last home playoff game as No. 2 seed to Arizona in 2008, 33-13. … Carolina’s 12 wins tied team record. … Panthers defense allowed second-fewest points in NFL (241). … Panthers QB Cam Newton has 11,299 yards passing in his first three seasons, third-most in NFL history. Newton has 2,032 yards rushing in first three seasons, most by quarterback in league history. … WR Steve Smith expected to start after missing Week 17 with sprained knee ligament. … LB Luke Kuechly has NFL-high 320 tackles since 2012. … DE Greg Hardy has eight sacks in past three games. … CB Captain Munnerlyn has four interception returns for TDs since 2012, most in NFL. … Panthers have won seven straight games at home. … Panthers had nine sacks in Week 17 win over Atlanta.
WHEN: Sunday, 10:40 p.m., CBS
OPENING LINE: Broncos by 9½
RECORD VS. SPREAD: San Diego 10-6-1, Denver 11-5
SERIES RECORD: Broncos lead 58-49-1
LAST MEETING:Chargers beat Broncos 27-20 on Dec. 12
LAST WEEK: Chargers beat Bengals 27-10; Broncos had bye
CHARGERS OFFENSE: Overall (5), rush (13), pass (4)
CHARGERS DEFENSE: Overall (23), rush (12), pass (29)
BRONCOS OFFENSE: Overall (1), rush (15), pass (1)
BRONCOS DEFENSE: Overall (19), rush (7T), pass (27)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: First time the longtime division rivals are meeting in the postseason. … Chargers held the ball for nearly 18 minutes longer than Broncos in 27-20 win on Dec. 12, the only home loss of the season for Denver. … San Diego led the league in 10-play drives (39). … First-year head coach Mike McCoy knows the Broncos well after spending four seasons in the Mile High City as offensive coordinator. … QB Philip Rivers is 10-6 against Denver, throwing for 3,830 yards with 27 TDS and 12 interceptions. He’s 6-2 in Denver. … RB Ryan Mathews ran only one time in the second half at Cincinnati because of an ankle injury. Mathews was the only back to top 100 yards on the Broncos in the regular season, gaining 127 yards on 29 carries last month. … Mathews rushed for a career-high 1,255 yards in 2013, the eighth-best performance in franchise history. … WR Keenan Allen set rookie team records in receptions (71) and yards (1,046). … The Broncos captured their 13th AFC West title this season, moving past Oakland (12) for most among division members. San Diego has 10. … Coach John Fox is the fifth coach in NFL history to secure division titles in his first three seasons with a team. … Denver finished the regular season with an NFL-record 606 points. … QB Peyton Manning set league records for yards passing (5,477), TDs (55) and first downs through the air (289). … Manning is 167-73 in the regular season and 9-11 in the postseason. … WR Wes Welker missed the last meeting with San Diego due to a concussion. He’s been cleared to play. … The Broncos are the first team to have five receivers catch at least 60 passes. WR Demaryius Thomas led the way with 92 receptions. … Denver also is the first team to have five players with at least 10 touchdowns in a season: Thomas (14), Knowshon Moreno (13), Julius Thomas (12), Eric Decker (11) and Welker (10). … Moreno had 10 TD runs and 3 TD catches. He also topped 1,000 yards rushing for first time in his 5-year career with 1,038 yards. … CB Champ Bailey missed both games against San Diego this season with a nagging foot injury.