PHILADELPHIA -- This game was hyped as a possible preview of the NFC Championship Game, since it pitted the NFL's top-ranked offense against its top-ranked defense.
If that's the case, give the edge to the offense and punch the New Orleans Saints' ticket to Miami for Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints dominated the Philadelphia Eagles 48-22 on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in an early-season showdown between two of the best teams in the conference.
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| There isn't a quarterback in the NFL playing better than Drew Brees right now. (AP) |
Sure, it's early in the season, way too early to be crowning anybody. On the other hand, maybe the Saints will get even better as the season rolls along, although it's hard to believe they could be any better than they were against the Eagles, who manhandled Carolina 38-10 on opening day.
Eagles fans, of course, will put an asterisk next to this loss because it came without quarterback Donovan McNabb, who missed the game with a fractured rib. And McNabb might have made a difference, although his replacement, Kevin Kolb, played pretty well. He didn't win the game, but he didn't lose it, either. He passed for 391 yards and two touchdowns, not bad for a quarterback making his first NFL start.
If the Eagles want to blame somebody, they should point to their special teams, flagged for four penalties. Each one forced the offense into poor field position and indirectly led to New Orleans' points. And the Eagles' special teams were responsible for the turning point of the game. That was Ellis Hobbs' fumble on the second-half kickoff, which came with New Orleans leading just 17-10. The Saints recovered the fumble and struck for a quick touchdown and a 24-10 lead and never looked back.
But make no mistake, the Eagles didn't lose this showdown -- the Saints won it. And it wasn't what the Saints did that was so impressive as much as how they did it -- with apparent ease. They were in control almost the entire game and their offense seemed to be able to come up with a big play whenever they needed it. And their offense seemed to know that. You could practically see them yawn in the huddle.
As always, it starts and finishes with the quarterback and nobody in the NFL is playing better right now than the Saints' Drew Brees. As Eagles defensive back Joselio Hanson put it, "Drew Brees is an animal."
And now Brees has plenty of help, with running backs Mike Bell and Reggie Bush, wide receiver Marques Colston, tight end Jeremy Shockey and a solid offensive line. This won't be the last time these guys drop 40 points on somebody.
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Of course, Saints coach Sean Payton found flaws in his team's masterpiece, because that's what coaches do. The Saints could have won 100-0 and Payton would have been unhappy with the way the lined up for the national anthem.
"We still have room to improve," he said. "I think we have a lot of work to do in a lot of areas."
But the players know differently. After the game, Brees was asked to compare this team with the 2006 squad that advanced to the NFC Championship Game, the first year in New Orleans for Payton and Brees.
"With this team ... we've got something special here," Brees said. "Obviously, we have very high expectations for ourselves. We see this window of opportunity that we have. ... I would say the confidence level right now is way higher than it was in 2006."
There are still plenty of challenges ahead for the Saints, including two games against division rivals Carolina and Atlanta, teams that went to the playoffs last year. Plus the Saints have to play two more tough NFC East teams, New York and Dallas. Oh yeah, they also have to face the New England Patriots, who have a pretty good quarterback, too.
But right now, the best quarterback in the NFL is playing in New Orleans, not New England.
