New Orleans Saints host Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks travel to New Orleans to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Saints on Sunday 21 November.
Previous meetings and recent games
Since the 2002 realignment, the Saints and Seahawks have met three times with Seattle winning the first two meetings, and New Orleans winning the most recent tilt back in 2007 by a score of 28-17.
After being stunned 30-17 by the Cleveland Browns back on week 7, the Saints have won two in a row in convincing fashion. They are currently coming off their bye week and therefore should be well rested
and well prepared.
After suffering humiliating losses to the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, the Seahawks bounced back last week with a big win against the Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are only 5-4 on the season,
but right now that's good enough for sole possession of first place in the NFC West.
How they match up
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has gotten pretty beat up this season. He missed the Seahawks' 41-7 loss to the Giants with a concussion and is now expected to play with a couple of broken bones in
his left wrist. Hasselbeck suffered the injury early in the team's 36-18 win over the Cardinals, but Hasselbeck fought through the pain and threw for 333 yards.
The Saints boast one of the league's top passing offences as well as the NFL's best pass defence. They are led on the offensive side of the ball by last season's Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees who is having
another amazing year and is on pace to complete close to 500 passes.
What Brees has done is all the more impressive considering the fact that the Saints have had virtually no running game to take the pressure off. Both Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas have been out for most
of the season, and the Saints have been handing the ball to rookie Chris Ivory. There are rumors that Bush, who's been out since Week 2, could be set to make a comeback to the lineup.
Since coming over from the Buffalo Bills, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has not exactly instilled any fear in his opponents. He has yet to run for 100 yards in a game this season.
If the Seahawks possess one ace in the hole it will be on special teams. Leon Washington has been averaging over 30 yards per return and has run two kickoffs for touchdowns this season.
What to expect
With Hasselbeck not playing at 100-per cent fitness and the likely return of Bush to the Saints offence, the outlook for the Seahawks is pretty bleak, and they'll be hoping that the Saints will have lost
their focus with the week off. The Seahawks have always been a team with something to prove and they will want to show why they are the top team in their division. Still, it's looking like the Seahawks may only have to win eight games to qualify for the play-offs.
If the Seahawks can turn a couple of big plays they might have a chance.
If everything goes according to plan the Saints should get a win. Saints take it 23-19.
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