The New Orleans Saints probably didn’t feel much like a No. 1 seed Monday, considering they barely escaped with a victory against a Vikings team that exposed plenty of weaknesses. Still, when the Saints and the Colts meet in Miami Gardens, Fla., in two weeks, the Super Bowl will feature the two most dominant regular-season teams, and the top seeds in each conference.

Since 1975, the top seeds in each conference have met in the Super Bowl eight times, the last time in the 1993 season, when the Cowboys beat the Bills in the Georgia Dome. Think that guarantees a classic game? Consider that the greatest Super Bowl  the Giants’ victory over the undefeated Patriots two years ago  featured a No. 1 seed and a wild card.

That is a testament to the parity that the former N.F.L. commissioner Pete Rozelle craved for the league. But the Saints’ shaky performance against the Vikings might have illustrated best why both top seeds rarely advance. The Saints and the Colts were the dominant teams in the regular season, starting 13-0 and 14-0, respectively. But while the Colts passed on a run at perfection, the Saints swooned, a skid that included an alarming loss to Tampa Bay at home in the next-to-last week of the regular season.

“I don’t know the No. 1, 2 or 3 seeds correlates to the best team,” said Brian Billick, whose Ravens team knocked off the top-seeded Tennessee Titans on its way to a Super Bowl title in the 2000 season. “You played best over a 16-game schedule, but that could have to do with your division, with the way you stayed healthy. Minnesota is clearly a better football team, and you know that because with five turnovers they still only lost by 3 points. New Orleans played the best in the regular season, but does being the No. 1 seed mean you are the best team?”