Often NFC Wild-Card games aren’t compelling, but this weekend fans have two big ones to look forward to. The NFC Wild-Card round kicks off tonight as the New Orleans Saints hit the road for a prime-time game against the Philadelphia Eagles live on NBC. The Saints offense hasn’t clicked outside of the Superdome this season, and their defense will have its hands full against the NFL’s second-ranked offense. See if New Orleans can shake its road woes as you watch Eagles vs Saints NFC Wild-Card game live online free using a few different services.
Some people said the regular-season talk about the Saints’ trouble on the road was overblown. Going into the NFC Wild-Card game today against the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s worth noting the Saints have never won a road playoff game. That seems especially ominous going into today’s Eagles game. The Saints have lost this season on the road to good teams — those opponents’ record was 54-22 — but the Philadelphia Eagles pose one of the biggest offensive threats New Orleans has seen all season.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles led the NFL this year with a 119.2 passer rating and running back LeSean McCoy won the NFL rushing title with 1,607 rushing yards. Meanwhile wide receiver DeShawn Jackson tied or set career marks in both receptions and receiving yards as he endured the Eagles’ brief quarterback carousel before Foles settled in.
The Eagles also enter today’s NFC Wild-Card game having won seven of their past eight games, including last week’s thriller against the Dallas Cowboys. In that game Foles threw two touchdown passes, McCoy had 120 yards, and the Philadelphia Eagles ran over the Cowboys 24-22 in a winner-take-all game for the NFC East title.
Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly’s prolific offense is bound to deliver at home when you watch Eagles vs Saints NFC Wild-Card game live online free. In fact, that’s what worries New Orleans fans heading into today’s Saints game. The Saints’ five losses this season have been against physical defenses. The Eagles are more of a finesse team, so the Eagles are the best NFC Wild-Card opponent the Saints offense could have hoped for. But if the Saints defense can’t stop Nick Foles and the Eagles, Philadelphia will be headed to the NFC Divisional Round next week.
Saints QB Drew Brees is charged with avoiding that fate. Brees passed for 5,000 yards this season for the third straight year and finished with the fourth QB Rating in the NFL. However there’s a 40-point difference in his QBR on the road compared to Saints games in the Superdome, today’s NFC Wild-Card game is in Philadelphia, and bad weather will hamper a Saints offense that throws the ball 65% of the time. Oh, and Saints running back Pierre Thomas has been ruled out for today’s Eagles game. In short, New Orleans needs everything to go right today’s NFC Wild-Card game.
Part of the Saints success will lie in whether Brees can maintain his momentum from Sunday’s 42-17 whopping of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brees clinched the Saints’ spot in today’s NFC Wild-Card game by passing for four touchdowns and running for one. Last week’s win against the Bucs gave the Saints an 8-0 record at home. But the Superdome is a long way from today’s Eagles game outside.
The Philadelphia Eagles vs New Orleans Saints game is scheduled to kickoff at 8:10 EST / 5:10 PST as Philadelphia’s coldest weather today is predicted to hit Lincoln Financial Field. You can watch Eagles vs Saints NFC Wild-Card game live online free on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with Max, which requires a subscription but allows anyone with one to watch any NFL playoff game live streaming for free. You can also watch Eagles vs Saints NFC Wild-Card game live online free streaming via NBC’s website or the NBC Sports Live Extra app. The NBC app will let you watch the NFC Wild-Card game between the Eagles and Chiefs on an Android tablet, iPad or smartphone.
