New Orleans vs Atlanta: The Saints have already outplayed Tom Brady, Matt Ryan is next in line

New Orleans had an awesome game last week, beating the reigning champions and the main favorites of this season - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will the Saints build on their progress made in the game against Tom Brady again, so as to outplay Matt Ryan and his Atlanta Falcons? Let's pick a few options to bet on at once.

The Saints approach the 9th-week game with a balance of 5-2 and remain just one win behind Tampa Bay. No one could have anticipated that after Drew Brees had announced his retirement in the run-up to the championship game. The Saints, however, seem to have found a perfect replacement. 27-year-old Jameis Winston, who has played 70 games as the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay before moving to New Orleans, is the first pick of the 2015 draft. In fact, he most likely learned a lot from his great predecessor after sitting on the sidelines last season with the Saints. The only one to take compassion on here is Winston, who was injured in the Tampa Bay game and is out for the rest of the season. How very unfortunate...

It looks like Marcus Semien is the one to take off in the match against Atlanta. It is interesting to note that the backup, as well as Winston, was selected in the 2015 draft, but only in the 7th round. Simien has 28 NFL games under his belt: 26 for Denver, 1 for New York Giants, and now 1 for New Orleans after his coming on as a substitute player against Tampa Bay. On that occasion, the quarterback even managed to score a passing touchdown, although he was close with a completion percentage of 55, he didn’t go for the turnover.

If the Falcons are to, at least, get back in the playoff race, the game in New Orleans is a good chance to get the better of it. After last week’s 13-19 loss to Carolina, another NFC South division rival, Arthur Smith’s team’s score is 3-4, which places them in the last place in the quartet. It would take 3 wins to get ahead of Tamba Bay, 2 to get ahead of New Orleans and 1 to outrun Carolina. Another defeat in the match with their direct rival would make life extremely difficult for the Falcons. More so in the fight for the wild-card round.

In the previous tДата

Матч

Итог

Dec 6, 2020 

Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints

16-21

Nov 22, 2020 

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

24-9

Nov 29, 2019 

Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints

18-26

Nov 10, 2019 

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons 

9-26

 wo seasons, Atlanta was only able to outplay New Orleans once in four games.

Frankly, Atlanta seems to have no intention to make it to the playoffs. Each new season and each new game leaves little room for doubt that the highlight of Matt Ryan’s career will remain losing the Super Bowl in one quarter. That’s a shame.

The only problem for Orlean in the upcoming game could be Jameis Winston’s injury. That’s a concern, of course, but not the key factor. Let’s not forget that the Saints are a purely coached team, Sean Payton, for example, has most likely worked out every offensive option multiple times after 16 seasons at the helm of the team. Suffice it to recall the regular execution of combination by Brees and Taysom Hill, the quarterbacks of the last season.

And, of course, the Saints are a top defense. New Orleans takes 4th place in the NFL on defense in the current league. They have succeeded to outplay Tom Brady last week, Matt Ryan is next in line. All the more because Atlanta’s offense today is limited to a bunch of quarterbacks and Cordarrelle Patterson, who is both the team’s best receiver and best passer, with 7 touchdowns out of a total 16 under his belt.

Prediction: A confident win for New Orleans.

Betting options:

• Handicap New Orleans (-5.5) for 1.80;
• Atlanta Individual Total Under (16.5) for 2.00;
• Halftime/Fulltime Atlanta/New Orleans for 7.64.