Lions-Saints Breakdown: Playing for playoffs

Nate Burleson looked around the Lions locker room the same way he might have scanned an opposing defense to find the secondarys weak spots. What Burleson saw was opportunity to earn a playoff berth and the hope to achieve it for a group of Lions veterans who have never made it to the postseason. To get a playoff berth would mean the world to a lot of guys in this locker room, Burleson said. The NFLs playoff drive is in high gear with five games left in the regular season, and the Lions first stop is Sunday night in New Orleans. The last stop is on New Years Day in Green Bay. In between are home games against Minnesota (Dec. 11) and San Diego (Dec. 24) and a road game at Oakland (Dec. 18). Realistically, the Lions are competing with the Bears and Falcons for the two wild-card berths in the NFCs six-team playoff field. The number to focus on is 10 -- 10 wins for a 10-6 record that likely will be the minimum required for a wild-card berth. Even that might not be good enough for the Lions because the Bears and Falcons have an advantage in the tiebreaker formula. There is almost an air of desperation for the Lions to end their 12-year playoff drought. The last time they made the postseason was 1999, as a wild-card with an 8-8 record. The Lions could use a repeat of last season, when they finished with a four-game winning streak. Linebacker Stephen Tulloch made the playoffs twice in five seasons with the Tennessee Titans before signing with the Lions this year. His performance has been critical to the defenses improvement. His postseason experience should be an asset, too. Weve got to earn our respect and make things happen, Tulloch said. Every play of every series is important to get to the next step. The oddsmakers expect the Lions to stumble on the first step Sunday night. The Saints have won three straight to lead the NFC South with an 8-3 record and are heavily favored to beat the Lions. My prediction for Sunday night: Saints 30, Lions 13. That wont KO the Lions playoff hopes, though. There will be plenty of football left to play. Here is this weeks Lions-Saints FOX Sports Detroit Breakdown: Playoff spotlight: wild-card race -- Start with 10, the number of wins likely needed to make the playoffs, and consider what the contenders face to hit the number. The Lions, Bears, Falcons and Cowboys are all 7-4, and the Giants are 6-5. The Giants and Cowboys probably dont figure in the wild-card race because of their positions in the NFC East. The Cowboys should win the East, and the Giants are fading, with a brutal schedule ahead, starting with Sundays home game against the Packers. After that Giants play the Jets, Redskins and Cowboys twice. That leaves the Falcons, Bears and Lions in a three-team race, with these issues and possibilities: The Lions have road games with the Saints, Raiders and Packers and play the Vikings and Chargers at home. If form follows, the Lions will beat the Vikings and Chargers and lose to the Saints and Packers. Key game for Lions: beating Oakland to get to 10-6. The Falcons have road games against the Texans, Saints and Panthers and play the Jaguars and Bucs at home. The Texans and Saints are both 8-3, but injuries are forcing the Texans to start rookie quarterback T.J. Yates. Bad break for the Texans. Good break for the Falcons, at least for Sunday. The Falcons are set up to win 10 games, at least. Key game Falcons: Theyve already played it. Beating the Lions in Game 6 gave them a huge tiebreaker edge. The Bears have Caleb Hanie in at quarterback because of Jay Cutlers broken thumb. Hanie played last week like he was the one with a broken thumb, throwing three interceptions in the first half at Oakland. The Bears can ride their defense, special teams and running back Matt Forte into the playoffs -- if Hanie doesnt self-destruct. There is no guarantee that he will or wont. They play the Chiefs at home on Sunday, at Denver, then home against an improving Seahawks team. The Bears close out the season on the road against the Packers and Vikings. Key game for Bears: at Vikings to get to 10-6. Saints spotlight: RB Darren Sproles -- Drew Brees and Sproles were teammates for one season in San Diego, before Brees signed with the Saints in 2006. They worked out together in the offseason, and Brees said he encouraged the Saints management to sign Sproles. The Saints made an exchange of running backs in free-agency, losing Reggie Bush to Miami and signing Sproles. Because of his multiple skills -- running, receiving and return ability -- Sproles has made as much impact as any free agent this season. As a runner, he has 402 yards and a 6.8-yard average per carry. With 62 catches, hes second on the team to tight end Jimmy Graham. Sproles is the Saints primary return man on punts and kickoffs and has one punt return for a touchdown. In a conference-call interview with the Detroit media earlier in the week, Brees recalled his conversations with Sproles and the Saints front office in the offsason. I told him, Buddy, youve got to come to the Saints, Brees said. We went after him. I know some other teams were in the mix, but Im glad he saw the opportunity in us because he has certainly made the most of it. Key matchup: Defense vs. Brees -- The Lions, who will be without suspended defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, must feel like the filling in a Super Bowl sandwich. In the last game, they faced the defending champion Packers and Aaron Rodgers. The Packers rank third in passing and fourth overall on offense. This week, its the Saints, who won the Super Bowl the previous year. The Saints are first in passing and first overall on offense, and Brees is on a hot streak with 14 touchdown passes and three interceptions. Graham has emerged as one of the leagues top tight ends, with 67 catches, eight TDs and a 14.3-yard average per catch, which is better than most of the leagues wide receivers. The Saints have uncommon balance in the running game: 420 yards from rookie Mark Ingram, 403 for Pierre Thomas and 402 for Sproles.