New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons NFL Preview and Odds
The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons will play on Thursday in what will be an entertaining game. The Falcons continue to win games, although not too impressively and the Saints are now in desperation mode after losing at home a week ago to the San Francisco 49ers. The loss leaves the Saints at 5-6 now. They are now two games behind the Green Bay Packers who lead the NFC Wild Card race at 7-4 and are a game behind the Tampa Bay Bucs, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings for the second wild card at 6-5. They saw all three lose on Sunday before taking the field at the Superdome, but two touchdowns given up on turnovers kept the Saints from taking advantage.
History
The Falcons will have some payback on their minds this week as it was New Orleans who pinned the only loss this season on the Falcons. The loss left them 9-1 at the time but they have won both games since to push their NFC leading record to 11-1. They are the current #1 seed if the playoffs started right now with the 49ers in second at 8-2-1. The Chicago Bears are in the all important #3 spot two games behind the Falcons.
The difference between finishing in the #2 spot and the #3 spot is significant. #2 will get a first round bye and will host a game in the second round. So the Falcons have the NFC South all but wrapped up, but still have a lot to play for.
The Saints and Falcons have one of the best rivalries in the game even if it is not what you would call a bitter rivalry. A Saints Falcons game is more of a party atmosphere. The crowds normally are made up of a few bus loads of the fans of the visiting team. And even though the two teams fan bases don't like the other, it's not a crowd where you would expect a lot of fight s in the stands. After the game, the two crowds are likely to party with each other after the game.
The Falcons lead the all time series 46-41 including a win in the only post-season meeting. That's a fairly tight series for teams with 87 meetings. The games are usually close as well. This season's meeting was a tight game all the way, with the Saints winning 31-27. So if you're wondering why a team that is 11-1 is only a three-point favorite over a 5-6 team, that is why.
Our Pick
5Dimes has the Saints +3 +115 or +165. The Falcons are -3 -135 or -190. Over/under is 56. We are going to take the Saints with three points and we'll go with the over. The Falcons play close games seemingly every week so three points in their games is a lot.
This is a cannot miss game on Thursday night. Drew Brees vs. Matt Ryan promises to be an offensive slugfest. You won't want to miss it.
