Best results and record of the year for Saints.
The Atlanta Falcons (7-9) are on the road Sunday in New Orleans and the Caesars Superdome to play the New Orleans Saints (8-8), with playoff implications on the line for both teams. Atlanta shot itself in the foot when losing to the Chicago Bears 37-17 last Sunday and has lost three of the last four. New Orleans defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-13 last Sunday and has won three of its last four.
Atlanta will clinch the title in the NFC South with a victory over New Orleans and a loss by Tampa Bay. New Orleans will clinch the NFC South with a win and a loss or tie by Tampa Bay and with a tie and a loss by the Buccaneers. New Orleans will reach the playoffs with a victory coupled with a loss or tie by Seattle plus a Green Bay loss or time. New Orleans can also qualify with a tie plus a loss by Seattle and Green Bay. Atlanta and New Orleans have several players on the injury list and all must be reviewed individually before making any wager on this particular game.
The Atlanta Falcons are scoring an average of 19.0 points per game which is 26th in the NFL, while gaining an average of 330.9 yards per game which is 18th. Atlanta averages 130.1 yards rushing per game and 200.8 yards passing per game, which are 8th and 22nd respectively. Atlanta quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who is listed as questionable, has 890 yards passing with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Desmond Ridder has 2,545 yards passing with 10 touchdowns and 11 receptions. Bijan Robinson has rushed for 948 yards with four touchdowns and Drake London has caught 65 passes for 864 yards and two touchdowns.
Atlanta’s defense is allowing an average of 20.3 points and 316.1 yards per game which are 10th and 11th respectively. The Falcons allow an average of 115.9 yards rushing per game which is 19th and 200.2 yards passing per game which is 8th. The leading tackler for Atlanta is Jessie Bates III with 128, while the leader in quarterback sacks is Arnold Ebiketie with six and the leader in intersections with six is Bates III.
New Orleans is scoring an average of 22.1 points per game which is 14th in the NFL. The Saints are averaging 99.3 yards rushing which is 21st and 234.0 yards passing which is 12th, for a total of 333.3 yards of total offense per game which is 16th. Quarterback Derek Carr has thrown for 3,614 yards with 21 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Atlanta running back Alvin Kamara has a team-best 694 yards rushing with five touchdowns and Chris Olave is the leading receiver with 1,067 yards and four touchdowns. Both Kamara and Olave are questionable.
The New Orleans defense is allowing an average of 19.4 points and 323.3 yards per game which are 6th and 13th respectively. New Orleans allows an average of 122.5 yards rushing per game which is 21st and an average of 200.8 yards per game passing which is 9th. New Orleans has the fifth most takeaways with 25. The leading tackler for New Orleans is Demario Davis with 112, while the leader in quarterback sacks is Carl Granderson with 8.5 and the leader in interceptions with four is Paulson Adebo.
New Orleans has a few important players such as Alvin Kamara and Drake London who are questionable but both should be able to play on Sunday. Both Atlanta and New Orleans have solid defenses, but the difference will be the offense of New Orleans behind Derek Carr, which is 14th in points scored at 22.1 in comparison to Atlanta, which is averaging 19.0 points per game and is 26th. Atlanta has had two quarterbacks that have played several games each, while New Orleans has had Derek Carr under center all season, which creates far more continuity. Atlanta has covered the spread in just four of its last 15 games while New Orleans has covered the spread in five of its last seven played during January. New Orleans also will have a chip on their shoulder as they were defeated by Atlanta 24-15 in the first meeting between the two but will have the Falcons on their home field at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday.
Kevin grew up in a sports-only household. Every afternoon was set to watching any sport that was on T.V. After years of watching sports he got introduced to the betting world, and soon stats, trends, and odds were Kevin’s best friends. Now, almost 2 decades later, His life revolves around sports, writing about them, and betting on them. We are glad to have Kevin on our Winners & Whiners & StatSalt teams and you should be happy that we have him as well.
