As I watched the end of the NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, I could not help but feel like I had seen a similar game years before. Numerous games are played in the regular season and postseason, and over time they tend to be forgotten. Still one stood out to me among all the others. Looking back at January 2007 can give us some insight on how the Super Bowl may turn out.

The Indianapolis Colts were hosting the New England Patriots in a loud RCA Dome. At one point in the game, all hope for the Colts was gone and everyone knew that the Patriots would advance to the Super Bowl.

The only problem was that no one told the Colts that they were supposed to give up and lose as Indianapolis displayed one of the greatest postseason comebacks in NFL history.

The Colts came back and beat the Patriots advancing to the Super Bowl in Miami.

For anyone else who does not recall the rest of the story, Manning and the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl and silencing Manning’s critics.

In watching both games, the average viewer could make the argument that the Patriots were a better team than the Bears in the 2006 season.

Taking this a step further, the average viewer could then say that the top two teams in the NFL were the Colts and the Patriots and that the winner would advance and win the Super Bowl.

The fact is that sometimes the two best teams in the NFL are both in the same conference.

Taking a closer look at the postseason in 2007, we can also see one other factor that helped Indianapolis win a Super Bowl.

The Chicago Bears that year had a terrific defense, led by guys like Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher.

Unfortunately for Chicago, they did not get the opportunity to play against an explosive offense in the playoffs until the Super Bowl.

The best offense the Bears saw was the New Orleans Saints, who at that time had yet to acquire the offense that they have today. The Bears were not prepared to take on an offense of that caliber and it showed in February of 2007.

Shifting the focus back to 2010, we can see the similarities between the postseason in 2007 and the postseason this January.

At one point in the Superdome, it seemed as though the Vikings would advance to the Super Bowl. All hope for the Saints was gone and everyone thought the Vikings would win. Then the Saints forced Minnesota to turn the ball over and came back to beat the Vikings. Does this sound familiar yet?

This year, the Super Bowl will feature both the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

Unfortunately for Indianapolis, they have not played against a top offense in the playoffs yet.

While the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets are both good teams, they both pride themselves on having a great defense, not offense.

New Orleans, on the other hand, is a completely different team than the Ravens and Jets.

While Peyton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, he will just not have the weapons to beat a turnover causing New Orleans Saints defense.

While the Colts do have Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and even Pierre Garcon to help out, the Saints will simply outscore the Colts.

When I watched the NFC Championship game, I came to the conclusion that the top two teams in the NFL were both in the same conference.

This year the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints are both more balanced teams than the Colts.

Just like Indianapolis Colts galloped into Miami and won a championship, the New Orleans Saints will march in to Miami and win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

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