Stallworth might be the difference

Wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been a dominant player for the Philadelphia Eagles since they acquired him from the New Orleans Saints in a trade before the start of the regular season.

Stallworth’s combination of speed, solid route running and great hands makes him nearly impossible to defend with single coverage and that has helped open up Philadelphia’s vertical passing game. He averaged 19.1 yards in 38 catches during the regular season.

When Stallworth is healthy -- he sat out four games because of a hamstring injury -- he opens up lanes for Eagles’ tight end L.J. Smith and wide receiver Reggie Brown. But Stallworth’s biggest impact may be how he forces defenses to decide how much attention to give versatile running back Brian Westbrook.

That could be a problem Saturday for the Saints, who play well as a unit but do not have a deep group of quality defensive backs.

New Orleans had the NFL’s third-best pass defense with a secondary of relative unknowns. Strong safety Omar Stoutmire and cornerbacks Fred Thomas and Mike McKenzie are veteran castoffs who have excelled playing together along with second-year free safety Josh Bullocks.

But the Saints are not that strong in man coverage. The Cincinnati Bengals took advantage of this with Chad Johnson when they beat New Orleans, 31-16; so did the Eagles the first time the teams played Oct. 15.

The Saints won the game, 27-24, but Brown had six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown even with Stallworth sidelined by an injury.

Summary: Since Jeff Garcia took over at quarterback for injured starter Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia lost some of its deep passing game. But look for Garcia to take his chances against the Saints’ slow-footed secondary. Since beating the Eagles in October, New Orleans’ defensive backs have had difficulty playing on the fast surface inside the Superdome. While winning only one of their last five home games, the Saints gave up nine touchdown passes and nine passing plays of 30 yards or more.

lonnie.white@latimes.com