Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ contract will expire after this season. Of course he could re-up with the Saints. But there also has been growing speculation that he might consider reuniting with friend Jeff Fisher, who is expected to coach either the St. Louis Rams or Miami Dolphins.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Sunday that “many around (the) league believe” Williams will leave New Orleans to reunite with Fisher. Williams served as an assistant under Fisher with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans from 1994-2000 and has long considered him his best friend in the business

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By Pat Yasinskas

Three things to know about next Saturday’s New Orleans Saints–San Francisco 49ers divisional playoff game:

1. On a roll: The Saints have not lost since Oct. 30 when they inexplicably dropped a game to St. Louis. Although that loss was a big reason why the Saints now have to go on the road, it brought about some positives. The Saints made some major adjustments in their pass protection to give tackles Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief help. Since then, the offense has been unstoppable. Everyone talks about the passing game and that’s understandable. But the running game has been almost as impressive with Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory sharing the carries. People like to label the Saints a “dome’’ team, but that’s not necessarily true. With this running game, the Saints can also play outdoors and still be able to move the ball if the weather is an obstacle.

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By Pat Yasinskas
Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 45-28 victory against the Detroit Lions at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday night.

What it means: It wasn’t quite as easy as the final score would suggest. The Lions led early and much of the game was competitive. The Saints were far from perfect and the offense turned the ball over twice in the first half. But this was still a solid win against a good team. That’s a lot better than what happened last year when the Saints got beat by Seattle in the first round of the playoffs. The Saints had plenty of momentum carrying over from the regular season and they only built on that.

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By James Varney

California, here the New Orleans Saints come.

New Orleans (14-3) dispatched the Detroit Lions 45-28 Saturday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, setting up a divisional playoff game next weekend in San Francisco.

It should prove a fascinating matchup, pitting perhaps the NFL’s best defense in the 49ers with the Saints undisputed best offense. The Saints underscored that attribute against the Lions, breaking a handful of NFL records, and the 626 yards the team gained broke a postseason record that had stood since 1963.

That sort of firepower overwhelmed Detroit (10-7), which played quite well in its first playoff appearance since 1999 and was in the game into the third quarter. The Lions will now look to build on the franchise’s most successful campaign in years, while the Saints continue their pursuit of a Super Bowl return.

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By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—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.

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Who Dats Get Crunk in Church

Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in New Orleans.

By Pat Yasinskas

Three nuggets of knowledge about Saturday’s Lions-Saints playoff game:

The Graham Factor: You can make the case that New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham isn’t really a tight end. He might be more of a wide receiver in a tight end’s body and that’s going to create matchup problems for the Lions. Linebackers don’t have the speed to stay with Graham and defensive backs don’t have enough size to shut him down. Graham finished the regular season just one reception short of becoming the third tight end in history to have 100 catches in a season. Of Graham’s 11 touchdowns, nine came on passes outside the yardage numbers on the field, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That was a league high among all receivers and four more touchdowns than the next tight end.

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