The 14-3 New Orleans Saints landed in California at around 11:00 PM CT, or 9:00 PM PT, on Thursday night in preparation for this Saturday afternoon’s meeting with the 13-3 San Francisco 49ers at the soon to be extinct Candlestick Park. The only reason the Saints now own the better record is that San Francisco won the right to rest an extra week during the Wildcard Round by beating New Orleans out in a 13-3 tie with the better conference record in the regular season. Meanwhile, the Black and Gold got to entertain the Detroit Lions last Saturday in a contest that ended with a 45-28 victory in favor of the host team from the Big Easy.

When is the game? Saturday, 3:30 PM CT
Where is it being played? Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA

Suggestions have been made by several NFL analysts, as we move one step closer to the ultimate goal in professional football, that the Saints have struggled on the road recently. That perception is based perhaps more on an overall impression than it is on any actual facts. It must be people’s collective memories of New Orleans as one of the losing-est franchises in NFL history being mistakenly applied to this year’s team. That, combined with their most recent image of the Saints only going 5-3 in the 2011 regular season away from the Superdome, which included losses to the 4-12 Buccaneers in week 5 (who were 3-2 at that time) and the win-less Rams (at the time) in week 7, is what they must be confusing for a team “struggling” on the road. Yes, the Saints are a pitiful 139-203-4 all-time on the road. Believe it or not, the facts prove that there is no better road team in the entire league since 2006 than the New Orleans Saints with a 31-19 away record featuring Drew Brees at quarterback and Sean Payton as Head Coach.

Some may even want to go so far as to bring up the fact that New Orleans has an 0-4 record on the road in the postseason as a legitimate reason for concern regarding this trip out west for the bayou-based Bless You Boys. That too is a foolish observation in this case, for the simple fact that two of those losses are completely unattributable to Head Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees. In breaking down the four road playoff losses for the Saints, you would find that only last postseason’s wild-card debacle up in Seattle and the 2006 loss in Chicago’s Soldier Field in the NFC Championship Game even apply here.