If Drew Brees and the Saints ever are going to get rid of their “dome team” reputation, Monday night in Seattle would be a great place to start.
Few things would answer Brees’ critics more than winning a very important December game in the famous outdoor din of CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks are unbeaten in 13 consecutive games since Dec. 24, 2011.
The history of both Brees and the Saints make that prospect extremely daunting.
Start with the Saints, whose combination of a wide-open, pass heavy offense and smallish defense is built to win on a fast track in a dome — in their case, the Superdome — seemingly like no other in the NFL.
At least on offense, the difference in performance at home and on the road by New Orleans in building its 9-2 record this season are stark.
The Saints’ offense is like a different unit entirely when it comes to playing away from the Superdome, averaging 33.1 points in six home games but just 21.2 points in five road games.
Brees is the best example of that, compiling 20 touchdown passes against just three interceptions at home but 10 TD throws against five interceptions on the road.
But the contrast isn’t limited to just Brees. The Saints have scored six rushing TDs at home but just one on the road.
Surprisingly, New Orleans’ defense under first-year coordinator Rob Ryan actually is better on the road. Opponents not only are completing a much lower percentage of their passes at home against Ryan’s charges, but the Saints have allowed eight interceptions on the road against just two in the Superdome.
But the Saints, who are 6-0 at home and 3-2 on the road (including a loss to the Jets), don’t consider themselves to be huge underdogs in this contest for NFC supremacy. As the Saints like to point out, they are 36-25 on the road since Brees and coach Sean Payton arrived in 2006. That’s not easy to do in a league where home teams historically have a big edge.
“The Patriots — where did their three losses come? On the road,” Brees said rather defensively last week. “Denver — where did their two losses come? On the road. Seattle — where did their one loss come? On the road.
“You can take every team that is kind of at the top and say, ‘Where did their losses come?’ ’’ Brees added. “Most of the time they came on the road.”
Brees exemplifies that come playoff time more than any other Super Bowl-winning quarterback in modern league history. Despite all his success and well-deserved accolades, a Brees-led team never has won a road playoff game in his career (the neutral-site Super Bowl doesn’t count).
Brees’ teams are 0-3 on the road in the postseason, although to be fair he did throw for 462 yards and four TDs in a 36-32 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round two years ago.
History isn’t working entirely against Brees and the Saints on Monday night, though. He enters the game having won nine games in a row on “Monday Night Football,” completing 72 percent of his passes for 2,880 yards and 28 TDs against just five interceptions during that impressive streak.
The Saints only can hope that continues for Brees, because this matchup of by far the conference’s two best teams looks like it will be incredibly critical for New Orleans, if it hopes to avoid having to go back to Seattle in the NFC Championship game.
The Saints are headed for a letdown, though. New Orleans might be great at home, but the Seahawks are all but invincible in their own place — and will stay that way for at least another week.
PICK: Seahawks, 31-17