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Having shed their long-held reputation for losing with bumbling ineptitude, the New Orleans Saints open the playoffs as the Super Bowl contenders they expected to be.

Maybe even a little better.

Drew Brees broke some of the most prestigious passing records there are and the Saints (13-3) matched their franchise-best regular-season record from their 2009 Super Bowl campaign while also going unbeaten at home for the first time in their 45-year history.

''In the big picture, if we were to win the Super Bowl this year, it would be looked at as that era when the Saints were dominating,'' safety Malcolm Jenkins said. ''But we've got to get there first.''

The road begins Saturday night in the Superdome against the Detroit Lions, who in recent seasons looked a lot more like the old Saints, even reaching a new low with a historic 0-16 season in 2008.

That was the season before they drafted quarterback Matt Stafford, who, because of Brees' record-shredding campaign, relatively quietly became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to eclipse 5,000 yards passing in a single season.

Now one of the oldest franchises is in the role of playoff neophyte. The Lions (10-6) haven't been to the postseason since 1999 and therefore have to earn some playoff credibility, much like the Saints did six years ago.




Surging Saints a tough playoff draw for Detroit - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

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homerj07

The Saints present problems for any team!!