The Seattle Seahawks last hosted the New Orleans Saints six weeks ago, in one of the most anticipated Monday Night Football games of the season. The Seattle Seahawks have the best homefield advantage in the NFL and exposed the Saints’ road woes in a 34-7 whipping. Today’s Seahawks game against the Saints is a rematch in the NFC Divisional Playoff game, but things have changed. Most notably, the Saints last week got their first playoff road win in franchise history. With that monkey off their back, will today’s Saints game have a different outcome? We’ll find out as we watch Saints vs Seahawks live online NFC Divisional playoff free streaming using a few different services.
The Saints’ Drew Brees was the fourth-ranked quarterback in the NFL this season, with 5,162 yards and 39 touchdowns during his career-best year. But the Seahawks had the No. 1 defense and top passing defense this season, allowing a mere 172 passing yards per game. The Seahawks also held opposing quarterbacks to a meager 63.4 passer rating. Indeed, in that brutal MNF game six weeks ago, Brees managed just 147 yards and went 23 for 38. And that seven-point total? It was the lowest in the Brees and coach Sean Payton era.
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, on the other hand, threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns in the Seahawks win. Wilson led the Seahawks to a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter with touchdown passes to Zach Miller and Doug Baldwin, eventually going into halftime with Seattle ahead 27-7. In the third quarter, Wilson tossed another touchdown, this time to Derrick Coleman. The Seahawks were hot, and the Saints were not in that December game.
But as you watch Saints vs Seahawks live online NFC Divisional playoff free streaming you’ll see a different New Orleans team. The Saints are fighting to get past the NFC Divisional Round for the first time since their 2009 Super Bowl season. The last time these teams met, the Saints focused on containing Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. They succeeded, but it came at the cost of letting Wilson go wild with big plays in the air and on the ground.
The Seattle Seahawks defense may actually play a bigger role than the Seahawks offense in today’s NFC Divisional Playoff game. That will hold particularly true with Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary going against Brees and the Saints receivers. The Saints road troubles are well documented, even though they won last week against the Eagles, and interceptions are one of their biggest issues. At home, Brees this season threw 27 touchdowns and three interceptions. On the road, including last week’s Wildcard game against the Eagles, Brees’ tossed 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. You don’t think Seattle’s secondary is licking their chops at that?
Last week New Orleans beat the Philadelphia Eagles on the road for the Saints franchise’s first road playoff win. Shayne Graham’s 32-yard field goal as time expired won the NFC Wildcard game 26-24, but it was Brees who guided the 34-yard drive that led to the winning kick. If Brees remains confident after last week’s Wildcard win and gets help from Mark Ingram, who rushed for 97 yards and a TD last week against the Eagles, today’s Seahawks game will be much closer than the MNF debacle.
The Saints defense will have a role as well. The New Orleans defense last week held the NFL’s top rushing offense to 80 yards on the ground, and the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy had only 77 yards. With Seahawks RB Lynch aiming to go into “beast mode” today at home, the Saints defense will look to lock down today at CenturyLink Field without letting Wilson get loose as he did in December.
Kickoff for today’s Saints Seahawks game is scheduled for 4:35 EST / 1:35 PST on FOX. You can watch Saints vs Seahawks live online NFC Divisional playoff free streaming on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with Max package. Watching the online live streaming version like that requires a subscription, but anyone who has a subscription can watch any NFL playoff game free online, including today’s NFC Divisional playoff game between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks.
