Eagles Created Best Path Possible to Super Bowl

Will someone explain why the topic of why the Eagles' most desirable wild-card opponent is even debatable? Going back to the Bears game, this is the reason I felt that game was so important and not "meaningless" as many described that Sunday Night.  The Eagles beating the Bears gave them the easiest road to the Super Bowl possible.

The forecast for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia is calling for temperatures in the mid-to-low 20s throughout Saturday night's Saints-Eagles playoff game.

Philadelphia was hit with 6-7 inches of snow earlier in the week, and the grounds crew estimates it has removed 2-3 billion pounds of powder from the stadium leading up to the Wild Card game. The only weather that will affect Saturday night's game is biting-cold temperatures.

Who did I want the Eagles to face next tonight?

The easy answer: New Orleans.

Why the Saints?

It's simple, they simply aren't the same explosive team they are inside the Superdome that they are on the road.  The numbers jump-off the page when they play at home, they average 33 points per game.  Same team, different venue, and you wonder how the Saints are even in the playoffs, scoring just 16 points per game.

I'm not saying playing the Saints are a gimme game - that's certainly not the case.  What I am saying is, if you wanted to map out a road to the Super Bowl, the one the Eagles created by beating the Bears is the one I would take.

Maybe it's just me, but I'd prefer to face a Saints team that you get to face on the road instead of playing Carolina in the wild card round, then going to New Orleans. I would like to take the easiest path possible to the Super Bowl - avoiding Seattle on the road at all costs for as long as I can is that path.

I'd rather face a Saints team that has lost four of its last five on the road. Everyone knows how bad the Saints are on the road and most importantly how different the numbers are for Drew Brees on the road.

Brees wrapped up his regular season completing 446-of-650 passes (68.6 percent) for 5,162 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.  However, on the road, Brees has just 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions, he completes 72 percent of his home passes, 64 percent of his road passes, and his home QB rating is 126, while his road rating is just 84 - the numbers are obvious Brees is a different road quarterback.

In five career games against the Eagles, Brees is 3-2, 1408 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.

In a perfect scenario, the Eagles would beat both the Saints and Panthers - then take on either Green Bay or San Francisco at Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC Championship game - thus avoiding having to play Seattle on the road.

My Pick: Eagles 38, Saints 20