The New Orleans Saints are on an eight-game win streak, and up next for them is a chance to double-down on their mastery of the Atlanta Falcons this season. However, the Falcons have looked great of late, so the Saints could be vulnerable to an ambush in Week 13. Check out our preview of this game below.
The Saints took advantage of what amounted to a gimme in Week 12, as they clobbered a quarterback-less Denver Broncos team on the road for a 31-3 victory. The Saints’ defense mauled Denver’s attack, with New Orleans posting 112 total yards allowed – a franchise record – and coaxed three turnovers. Defense was also the key for the Saints in their 24-9 home win over Atlanta back in Week 11, wherein they sacked Matt Ryan eight times resulting in a loss of 36 yards for the Falcons, intercepted him twice, and allowed just 248 total yards. The Saints’ defense is making things a whole lot easier for the team to compete and succeed despite not having Drew Brees under center. With Taysom Hill filling in nicely for Brees, despite a drop-off in performance in the Broncos game, the Saints could look forward to trouncing Atlanta again. Hill had 233 passing yards on 18-of-23 completions and two rushing scores in the win over the Falcons.
The Saints are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 road games.
The Falcons are having a much better second half of the season compared to the first. They are now 3-1 since Week 9’s road win over the Carolina Panthers after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders at home last Sunday, 43-6. The Falcons forced five turnovers, which they capitalized on, particularly by kicker Younghoe Koo, who went 5 of 5 on field-goal attempts. That’s the kind of defense that Atlanta will have to bring to the table in the rematch against the Saints, especially if the Falcons will continue to miss some of their key offensive players like Julio Jones and Todd Gurley. Jones did not play in Week 12 because of a hamstring issue, while Gurley sat out as well because of a knee injury. If those two will miss the Saints game on Sunday, the Falcons will turn to the likes of Calvin Ridley (90 receiving yards, 5 catches in Week 11), Brian Hill (55 rushing yards on 13 carries in Week 12), and Ito Smith (65 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, 12 carries in Week 12) for help around Ryan.
The Falcons are 2-0 against the spread in their last two home games.
