Faceoff: Saints strive for perfection? Slipped Pats, Steelers? NFC East?

CBSSports.com pro football writers Pete Prisco and Clark Judge face off weekly throughout the season.

Saints coach Sean Payton has stated he will not rest key players down the stretch. Will the Saints complete the perfect regular season? Will going for 16-0 hurt the team in the playoffs?

PRISCO: I still don't believe that to be true. I know he's saying it now, but Sean Payton is smart enough to realize that going 16-0 won't matter if you don't win in the playoffs. They can't take the chance of getting players hurt in a meaningless game. Do I think the Saints go undefeated? They have a real chance. This week's Falcons game would have been a tough one, but Atlanta is so banged up. That leaves potential losses at home against Dallas and then at Carolina. If the Saints are still playing their starters in the last two weeks, going undefeated is possible. But is it really a big deal anymore? The Patriots did it two years ago and lost in the Super Bowl. Didn't that teach us that the regular-season records don't matter? The Saints will rest players. You wait and see. They might not sit out entire games, but Payton will sit them at some point in games that don't matter.

JUDGE:. Yes, I think they go undefeated, and here's why: There's only one opponent on their schedule that could press them, and that's Dallas. But the Saints play that game at home, and that's an enormous advantage. The Cowboys couldn't stop the big plays against the Giants. So tell me how they do it against New Orleans. My guess is they don't. After that, it's pretty much of a breeze, with the season finale against Carolina a mild concern only because the Panthers pushed them before. I don't know how going undefeated would hurt them for the playoffs. It didn't hurt the Patriots two years ago. If there's a concern it's only this: It is so hard to keep a club up for four or five months that the Saints -- or Colts -- might not be peaking when they should. The Patriots wobbled down the stretch in 2007. Maybe New Orleans will, too. One difference: New England had tougher opponents then than the Saints do now.

This season the Patriots and Steelers have looked far less dominant than we're used to. How do you explain such significant dropoffs in two of the NFL's perennial powerhouses?

PRISCO: It's been the defenses. Looking at the stats, it doesn't look that bad. The Steelers are ranked fifth in total defense and the Patriots are ranked 11th. But the Steelers have given up late leads in the fourth quarter of games, traditionally a time when they get the quarterback down and win the game. Both teams have struggled to defend the pass. The Steelers are ranked 17th and the Patriots are 13th. The Steelers have really struggled on the back end without Troy Polamalu. The Patriots have struggled there as well, but they haven't had the pressure up front. New England has only 20 sacks on the season, which has led to big plays in the passing game against them and might explain why Bill Belichick didn't punt against the Colts. But the points each team is giving up per game isn't that bad. The Steelers are giving up 19.2 and the Patriots come in at 18.7. That's good enough to win, but they aren't getting it done in the fourth quarter. The Patriots are second in total offense and the Steelers are seventh. So it has to be the defenses. They aren't bad, just not as dominant.

JUDGE: One word: Defense. Neither club makes the stops it once did. The Patriots blew a fourth-quarter lead to Miami last week. The Steelers have blown five fourth-quarter leads in the six games they lost. "This is not who we are," said Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin afterward, but, unfortunately, yes, it is. The Steelers without Troy Polamalu are like McDonald's without the burgers. The guy is the heart and soul of their defense, and without him the Steelers look lost -- giving up a ton of big plays. The same goes for New England, which has struggled to find a defensive leader after the departures of Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour. Normally, the Patriots carry on with Tom Brady leading the charge, but not enough Brady and too many defensive lapses equals one big concern.

The NFC East is a three-team dogfight. Which team is the best equipped for a playoff run?

PRISCO: I'll go with the Eagles. I still don't think we've seen the best from them yet. I love their offense. Donovan McNabb has been there and done it in the past, so he knows what it takes to get it done in big games. This time around, he has big-time weapons to challenge vertically in DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The defense is coming together under first-year coordinator Sean McDermott. They are ranked seventh in the league in total and they're giving up 19.6 points per game. And they seem like they're getting better, after taking a big hit at middle linebacker to start the season with the loss of Stewart Bradley. The Cowboys have had December swoons and their schedule is tough down the stretch. The Giants have issues in the back end of their secondary, which has been a problem all season. Look for the Eagles to exploit that again this week. Andy Reid and McNabb always seem to get this team rolling when it counts. That's why they're my choice.

JUDGE: Philadelphia. I don't trust Dallas for two reasons: 1) The Cowboys are as good in December as handwarmers in Miami, and 2) their schedule is brutal. San Diego this week. New Orleans next. Like I said, brutal. I don't trust the New York Giants, either, basically because they have too many defensive shortcomings. Injuries. Scheme. Missed tackles. Blown coverages. You name it. The Giants are guilty. So that takes me back to Philadelphia. Look, the Eagles are flawed. I know that. They've been looking for a middle linebacker since Stewart Bradley exited the scene, their offensive line hasn't been all that great and Brian Westbrook may not play again this season. But here's what I like: They excel in December, Donovan McNabb is healthy and they force the turnovers necessary to beat opponents. Their 28 takeaways are one less than last year's total and third best in the league. Maybe the division is decided on the last day of the season, with the Eagles going to Dallas, but I don't think so. My guess is that Philadelphia has it won by then.