Sean Payton is coach of the year. Drew Brees is the All-Pro quarterback.

Those honors are nice.

But they are nothing next to the possibilities that await the New Orleans Saints if they can beat Philadelphia at the Superdome at 8 p.m. Saturday. It would get them to the first championship game in the team's mostly dismal 40-season history, and move them one step from the Super Bowl a season after going 3-13 season during a Katrina-enforced exile.

"We've beaten all the odds," says wide receiver Joe Horn, who is still bothered by a groin injury. "No one outside this locker room was even thinking we'd have a chance to be where we are right now."

The Saints (10-6) beat the Eagles (11-6) by 27-24 in New Orleans on Oct. 15 and are the second-seeded team in the NFC behind Chicago.

New Orleans drew the hottest NFC team in Philadelphia, winner of six straight, including a 23-20 wild-card win over the New York Giants last week on David Akers' 38-yard field goal as time expired. All six wins have come with Jeff Garcia at quarterback in place of the injured Donovan McNabb and thanks to an enhanced running game featuring Brian Westbrook, who rushed for a career-high 141 yards on 20 carries against the Giants.

Indianapolis (13-4) at Baltimore (13-3) 4:30 p.m. SaturdayThe Colts return to the city they abandoned after the 1983 season for this matchup between the NFL's equivalent of the unstoppable force (Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis offense) and the irresistible object (the Ravens' defense).The very resistable object that was Indy's run defense stiffened against the Chiefs, allowing Larry Johnson just 32 yards on 13 carries after giving up a league-high average of 173 yards rushing a game during the season. Meanwhile, rookie Joseph Addai rushed for 122 yards in the 23-8 win.The job will be a lot harder this week against Baltimore's defense, which features three first- or second-team All-Pros: linebackers Adalius Thomas and Bart Scott, and safety Ed Reed. And that's not counting Ray Lewis plus Trevor Pryce and Terrell Suggs, who combined for more than a third of the team's 60 sacks, second in the league.

New England (13-4) at San Diego (14-2) 4:30 p.m. SundayWhile the Chargers are the AFC's top-seeded team, the playoff experience belongs to the Patriots, who are seeking their fourth title in six seasons. That's true especially at quarterback and coach.Tom Brady is 11-1 in the postseason, with three Super Bowl titles; Philip Rivers is in his first year as a starter and will be in his first playoffs. And coach Bill Belichick is 12-2 with those same three championships, while Marty Schottenheimer is 5-12 in Cleveland, Kansas City and San Diego.Schottenheimer has laughed at himself this year when he refers to "Martyball," the conservative style that cost him some of those postseason games. He's had no choice but to open up the offense because he has league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, who set an NFL record with 31 touchdowns and can score from anywhere on the field.

Seattle (10-7) at Chicago (13-3) 1 p.m. SundayThe Bears seem to be one of the least respected top-seeded teams in NFL history, due in part to a weak schedule, to injuries, and to the sometimes awful play of quarterback Rex Grossman, who had a passer rating of 0.0 in the finale against Green Bay and threw two interceptions for touchdowns.The Seahawks are lucky to be here. They beat Dallas 21-20 last week when Tony Romo dropped the snap on what would have been a chip-shot field goal to put the Cowboys ahead with just over a minute remaining.