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The New Orleans Saints won both of their matches against the Atlanta Falcons last season (24-9 and 21-16) and are aiming for the same result on Sunday. The Saints and Atlanta will face off in an NFC South battle at 1 p.m. ET at Caesars Superdome. New Orleans will be strutting in after a win while the Falcons will be stumbling in from a loss.
New Orleans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-27 last week. No one had a standout game offensively for New Orleans, but they got scores from a handful of players including QB Jameis Winston, WR Tre'Quan Smith, and RB Alvin Kamara. Winston ended up with a passer rating of 140.
Special teams collected 12 points for New Orleans. K Brian Johnson delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game.
Meanwhile, the Falcons were first on the board but had to settle for second at the end of their game against the Carolina Panthers last week. Atlanta was within a late touchdown of stealing the victory, but they took the "L" against Carolina 19-13. QB Matt Ryan had a memorable game, but not in the way you want to be remembered: despite one touchdown, he threw two interceptions with only 5.41 yards per passing attempt. Ryan ended up with a passer rating of 116.90.
The Saints are the favorite in this one, with an expected 6.5-point margin of victory. Those who got lucky with them against the spread last week might want to hold off on placing bets this time since the team has yet to string together back-to-back wins against the spread.
New Orleans' victory brought them up to 5-2 while the Falcons' defeat pulled them down to 3-4. Two stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: New Orleans ranks third in the NFL when it comes to rushing touchdowns allowed, with only four on the season. Less enviably, Atlanta is stumbling into the contest with the second fewest rushing touchdowns in the league, having accrued only three on the season. We'll see if the Saints' defense can keep Atlanta's running backs out of the end zone.
