The New Orleans Saints head to second-seeded San Francisco on Saturday for a Divisional Playoff.
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The Saints had to negotiate the Wild Card round after missing out to the 49ers in the race for the second seeding in the NFC, but after a slow start they made easy work of the Detroit Lions as they romped to 45-28 victory. Record-breaking quarterback Drew Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints delighted the Superdome crowd, but now they must go out on the road with a trip to Candlestick Park standing between them and a place in the NFC Championship game.
San Francisco have been the surprise package of the 2011 NFL season, going from a 6-10 team in 2010 to a 13-3 team this time around, winning the NFC West in the process. A huge part of that success has to be accredited to first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, who has inspired quarterback Alex Smith after he struggled badly under the reign of Mike Singletary.
Then there is the defence, with the 49ers boasting a front seven that can rival any other in the game today. The Niners will be hoping linebacker Patrick Willis has overcome his hamstring problems ahead of this game because they will need him at his very best as they try to shut down Brees.
However, New Orleans simply have too much on offence and that should see them march on to face either Green Bay or New York for a place in the Super Bowl. Even if the Niners do manage to keep Brees, Marques Colston, Robert Meacham, Devery Henderson and Jimmy Graham quiet, they still have to contend with running backs Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Chris Ivory. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the Saints are 10/19 favourites despite being the visitors, while San Francisco are 17/10 to win.
New Orleans are 13/8 to produced the game’s first points with a touchdown, while San Francisco are 10/3 to open it up with another David Akers field goal. In the first TD scorer market there are so many options when it comes to the Saints; Colston 15/2, Graham 15/2, Sproles 8/1, Ivory 12/1, Meachem 12/1, Thomas 14/1, Henderson 16/1. Meanwhile, the Niners are expected to give the Saints a heavy dose of Frank Gore and the running back is 11/2 to score the first touchdown of this match. Tight End Vernon Davis is 8/1 and wide receiver Michael Crabtree 9/1 in this market.
Ladbrokes have a special money–back promotion for this match. If the Saints at the 49ers goes to overtime, the firm will refund all losing bets on the touchdown scorer markets in this match. We have already seen one OT game during the playoffs, courtesy of Denver and Pittsburgh on Wild Card weekend.
It is also worth noting that bookmaker Ladbrokes are offering enhanced odds on marquee markets of live TV NFL games all season long. This covers Money Line, Point Spread, Total Points, 1st Half Point Spread and 1st Half Totals.
