New Orleans Saints: A side-by-side comparison of NFC's best two teams

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(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Offense

If one were to just look at the statistics, it seems like a fairly lop-sided affair that the 49ers dominate in this aspect. This should be taken with a grain of salt, however, because of three main factors: the strength of opponents, overall offensive minutes and relative healthiness of players.

San Francisco has been playing well but against much weaker opponents than the Saints. Their exploded numbers are also a result of having 35 minutes on the field due to their defense and a relatively injury-free season so far.

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Conversely, the Saints have faced some of the toughest defenses in the league so far in Chicago, Jacksonville, and Dallas. Not to mention that the Saints managed to handle these teams with their back-up quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater.

Bridgewater needed to take about two games to adapt the offensive scheme from Drew Brees to himself, anyways. So, it’s no surprise that the offensive statistics are not impressive to this point in the season.

Looking at these two team’s offensive groups side-by-side, however, there is a clear winner in this contest. At quarterback, there is Jimmy G, who some have claimed to be a game manager for a large portion of his career and the soon-to-be Hall of Famer Drew Brees.

Garoppolo has an impressive record in his young career, but Drew has experience and has proven that he could handle the entire load of the offense when he needs to. Brees also has a much greater passer rating in his two full games this season than Garoppolo, who ranks in the mid-20s among all quarterbacks.

Not to mention, the playmakers for the Saints are much more efficient and explosive in their respective positions.

Michael Thomas is a legitimate MVP candidate by leading the league in receptions, receiving yards and is chasing the single-season receiving record. Emmanuel Sanders has looked impressive in his first showings as a Niner, but Thomas is performing at a historic rate and is making a case for being a top-3 receiver in the league.

Of course, SF running back Matt Breida has been showing out so far this year with 524 yards on 5.3 yards per carrying (3rd in the league). Tevin Coleman adds some veteran experience to the backfield, but this duo can’t compare to the proven play-making ability that Kamara has and the raw power of Latavius Murray.

The Niners backfield is an obvious strength, but few duos can beat the explosiveness of Thunder and Lightning 2.0.