New Orleans Saints, Nfl Playoffs | featured news

What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of "The Catch." Joe Montana to Dwight Clark then. Alex Smith to Vernon Davis now. Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.

Record-shattering Drew Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints poured it on in the second half for a 45-28 NFC wild-card victory over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night. Brees hit on 33 of 43 passes while throwing for the most yards in a regulation playoff game. He highlighted his night with three completions of at least 40 yards.

In a scene straight out of college, Pete Carroll stood in the middle of a pile on the midfield logo, jumping up and down with his players celebrating in unison.

Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass with 3:24 left to help the Saints end the Falcons’ eight-game winning streak and claim a playoff spot.

A 40-yard field goal in overtime by a little-known kicker could become as famous as jambalaya in these parts. The New Orleans Saints, a team with no home and an uncertain future five years ago, are heading for their first Super Bowl. By battering Brett Favre and beating the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 Sunday, they set off celebrations on Bourbon Street that locals never could have imagined in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Next stop for Brett Favre and the Vikings: New Orleans. Favre passed for four TDs as Minnesota hammered the Cowboys 34-3 to set up a date with the Saints in the NFC title game.

By refusing to quit on a lost season, Carnell Williams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have prolonged the New Orleans Saints' quest for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs....

Here are the most dangerous teams going into the final two games of the season.

Best day of football of the year? Well, at least it was the best set of early games, with the most dramatic missed field goal of 2009, the Saints falling out of a Redwood and landing on their feet, Michael Vick actually engendering love, the Dolphins making a race of the AFC East, Bruce Gradkowski imitating Joe Montana, and the Colts and Saints -- the first time two teams have been unbeaten this late in any NFL season -- approaching perfection as polar opposites.