The New Orleans Saints hope to spoil the homecoming of Eli Manning as two undefeated teams battle in a Sunday match-up that could be a preview of the NFC Championship game.
Manning, who grew up in New Orleans, brings the 5-0 New York Giants and an impressive 6-1 record indoors into the New Orleans Superdome.
“It is always fun to go to your hometown and play a game, especially since I was a Saints fan growing up,” said Manning, the most valuable player of last year’s Super Bowl. “I’ve seen many games in the Superdome, so I am excited about the opportunity to go in there and get to play in the Superdome and expect a big game going against the Saints. They are playing extremely well this year, two undefeated teams, it should be a great atmosphere.”
PHOTO: AFP
The Saints (4-0) and the Giants are two of the NFL’s five unbeaten teams going into week six of the season.
There has been concern about the Manning’s injured right heel, but he didn’t appeared bothered by it in last Sunday’s 44-7 win over Oakland.
This will be Manning’s first game in New Orleans, where his father, Archie, starred for many years.
The other time he was set to play in front of family and friends in the Superdome, Hurricane Katrina flooded the city in 2005 and forced the game to be moved to New York.
“The Saints are playing really well,” Manning said.
“They are really a talented team, so it should be fun. I am looking forward to the experience,” he said.
Saints have their own offensive weapons, including quarterback Drew Brees, who leads the NFL in passing yards with 14,941 since he joined New Orleans three years ago. New Orleans lead the league with a 36 points per game scoring average this year.
Tight end Jeremy Shockey knows the Giants well and this will be his first game against his former teammates. The disgruntled Shockey was traded to New Orleans last year.
The Baltimore Ravens (3-2) are set to clash with another undefeated team in the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) in a match between two clubs headed in opposite directions.
Baltimore got off to a hot start this year, but their offense is sputtering, coming off two tough losses.
Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is 5-0 for the first time in his career as Minnesota won their 400th game in franchise history last week by beating St Louis 38-10.
Both teams have strong running backs as Baltimore’s Willis McGahee and Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson are tied for the league lead with seven touchdowns.
The Seattle Seahawks face the Arizona Cardinals in a match-up between the only two teams to win the NFC West over the last five seasons.
The Cardinals (2-2) and the Seahawks (2-3) closed the gap on first place San Francisco (3-2) last week.
The winner will get a chance to gain more ground because the 49ers have a bye week.
Arizona lead the series with a career record of 11-9.
Seattle are coming off a confidence building 41-0 thrashing of the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
The game also marked the return of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who missed two games with a broken rib. Hasselbeck made his presence known, completing 18-of-30 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns in the runaway victory.
He has won seven of 11 career starts against the Cardinals.
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