NFL Playoff Capsule: Lions At Saints
DETROIT (10-6) At NEW ORLEANS (13-3)
Saturday, 8 p.m., NBC
OPENING LINE — Saints by 10
RECORD VS. SPREAD — Detroit 7-7-2; New Orleans 12-4
SERIES RECORD — Saints lead 11-9-1
LAST MEETING — Saints beat Lions 31-17, Dec. 4
LAST WEEK — Saints beat Panthers 45-17; Lions lost to Packers 45-41
LIONS OFFENSE — OVERALL (5), RUSH (29), PASS (4)
LIONS DEFENSE — OVERALL (23), RUSH (23), PASS (22)
SAINTS OFFENSE — OVERALL (1), RUSH (6), PASS (1)
SAINTS DEFENSE — OVERALL (27), RUSH (12), PASS (30)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Detroit making first playoff appearance since 1999. ... Lions set NFL single-season mark by coming back to win three games after trailing by 17 or more points. ... For first time since 1952, Detroit scored 45 or more points in three games. ... Lions scored club record 474 points in 2011; also set club record with 6,337 offensive yards. ... Lions QB Matthew Stafford set team passing records with 5,038 yards and 41 TDs, becoming fourth NFL QB with 5,000 yards passing in season, joining Hall of Famer Dan Marino, Saints' Drew Brees and New England's Tom Brady. ... Lions WR Calvin Johnson led NFL with 1,681 yards receiving and led NFC with 16 TDs receiving, which also broke former club record of 15 set by Cloyce Box in 1952. ... Johnson only Lion with 1,500-plus yards receiving and 15-plus TDs receiving in a season. ... DE Cliff Avril led Lions with 11 sacks and led NFC with six forced fumbles. ... Ndamukong Suh has 14 sacks over two seasons, second most by DT in NFL during that span. ... New Orleans has won eight in row and tied club record with 13 wins, equaling win total set by 2009 Super Bowl champion Saints. ... New Orleans had 8-0 home record for first time in club's 45-year history. ... New Orleans set NFL record with 7,474 offensive yards and 5,347 yards passing. ... Saints have qualified for postseason in four of six seasons under coach Sean Payton. ... New Orleans 4-2 in playoffs under Payton. ... Brees set NFL single-season record with 5,476 yards passing. Brees had 13 300-yard passing games, most in a season, including seven straight, longest streak in NFL history. ... Brees set single-season records for completions (468) and completion percentage (71.2). ... Brees completed 26 of 36 passes (72.2 percent) for 342 yards, three TDs in last meeting. ... RB-PR-KR Darren Sproles set NFL record with 2,696 all-purpose yards. ... He is first NFL player with 1,300-plus yards from scrimmage (1,313) and 1,300-plus yards on kickoff and punt returns (1,383). ... Jimmy Graham led NFL TEs with 99 receptions and was second with 1,310 yards receiving, also second most all-time by a TE behind New England's Rob Gronkowski. ... Graham is first NFL TE with at least 95 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 TDs in a season. ... Graham (99 receptions) and Sproles (86) are first TE-RB duo in NFL history with 80-plus catches each. ... WR Marques Colston, in sixth season, had 1,143 yards receiving in 2011, his team-record fifth 1,000-yard season. ... S Roman Harper led Saints with 7 1/2 sacks, second most all-time by DB in a season.
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