San Francisco could be the New Orleans Saints kryptonite

The San Francisco 49ers could be the New Orleans Saints kryptonite as the NFC playoffs are set to begin in the next few weeks.

The New Orleans Saints have three losses this season.

One was to the Los Angeles Rams, a game in which Drew Brees injured his thumb, sidelining him for over the next month. The second was to the Atlanta Falcons, a divisional foe that usually plays New Orleans pretty well. The Saints defeated the Falcons a few weeks later.

The third was against the fifth-seeded San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners still have a chance to secure a top-two seed in the NFC playoffs, but they’ll need to win their second matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. San Fran was the NFL last undefeated team, losing in Week 9. Oddly enough, San Fran also lost to Atlanta earlier in the season.

While the Saints-49ers matchup was previewed as a battle against two of the conference’s best defense, it turned into an offensive showdown in the first quarter.

With Deebo Samuel and Emmanuel Sanders out wide, the 49ers just ran down the field en route to putting up almost 50 points on New Orleans. The Saints also shredded the 49ers league-best defense, putting up 46 points of their own.

That said, almost every team in the NFL has shown some weaknesses outside of the Ravens, Seahawks, 49ers and Saints. Teams like New England and Green Bay have great records yet have shown numerous flaws throughout the season.

In the NFC, the Saints have already downed Seattle yet struggled mightily to get their feet underneath them against the 49ers. It’s because the 49ers have two speedy receivers while the Saints really only have one lockdown corner.

Both Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Eli Apple struggled to contain the 49ers receivers. They must do a better job. Obviously Sean Payton and the staff isn’t overly confident with the signing of Janoris Jenkins.

The elite defense combined with speedy receivers could make the 49ers the toughest competition for New Orleans.