The Saints and Falcons are set up for another tight one in the Superdome, but the feeling around this matchup from the Who Dat Dish staff is clear: New Orleans is taking this one.
Atlanta has won the last two meetings, and the Falcons haven’t put together a three-game winning streak in the series in nearly a decade. New Orleans was swept last season, so this is the first chance for Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough to start changing that script. It’s also Michael Penix Jr.’s first crack at this rivalry, and the Saints are hoping he gets the kind of welcome Shough did.
Darrion Gray sees the game staying close right down to the wire, with Shough engineering the kind of late drive that can swing a rivalry night. His pick has the Saints pulling out a 24-17 win, with the rookie quarterback finding his footing under the brightest lights yet.
“This could have been in our bold prediction article, but instead, Shough leading the Saints on a game winning drive against the Falcons represents how close this game will be.”
Gray also pointed to Shough’s early comfort in clutch situations and the fact that this will be his first real national showcase after spending most of his rookie season against teams that didn’t draw much attention. The games against the Lions and Ravens created some buzz, and now he gets the spotlight with the whole country watching.
Drew Collings is even more bullish. He has New Orleans rolling to a 35-10 blowout, arguing that the Saints will feed off the 20th anniversary of Domecoming and a fired-up crowd in the Superdome.
“This is more than a game. The Saints will come out of the tunnel fired up, fueled by a passionate fanbase on the 20th anniversary of the return to the Superdome.”
Collings also believes New Orleans has the better, more complete roster, doesn’t trust Atlanta’s pass defense, and expects Shough to deliver a career-level performance. On the other side, he called Penix unproven, even while noting how impressive he was last week, and said Brandon Staley’s defense will slow him down.
The strongest conviction of the bunch comes from the final Saints prediction on the board: New Orleans simply won’t lose. That outlook leans on the idea that this team has shown a knack for bouncing back under Moore, especially when you compare the Week 1 and Week 2 performances.
“I don’t think there’s any way the New Orleans Saints lose this game.”
For that prediction, the Domecoming anniversary matters, but it isn’t the whole story. The bigger reason is a Saints team that has already shown this season it can answer back.
In Other News...
Joe Horn Opens Up About The Saints Moment New Orleans Needed Most
When the Saints finally walked back into the Superdome for that 2006 Monday night game against Atlanta, it was bigger than football. For Joe Horn, who was one of the franchises defining voices at the time, the return carried the weight of a city trying to find its footing again after Hurricane Katrina. It was the kind of night that reminded New Orleans what the team meant, and what the team could mean for the community beyond wins and losses.
Horn has spoken candidly about how strongly he felt the Saints needed to be back in New Orleans, helping give the city something to rally around when it mattered most. The game itself became a turning point in the rebuilding story, with the Saints beating the Falcons and setting the stage for a stretch that eventually turned the franchise into one of the NFLs better teams, capped by the Super Bowl title in 2009. [Read more 🡒]
Saints First-Round WR Return Timeline Just Got More Complicated
Jordyn Tysons path back onto the field has already stretched longer than the Saints likely wanted when the first-round wide receiver went down with a hamstring injury in camp. He is making progress, but the current expectation is that he remains weeks away from game action after initially being projected to miss around two months.
The return picture now points at at least Week 7, with a later comeback in Week 9 also in play because of scheduling considerations. For New Orleans, it leaves Tyson as a player to keep tracking rather than counting on just yet, especially with the team trying to map out how soon its top rookie receiver can realistically be part of the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Suddenly Need Brandon Stutsman For A Much Bigger Test
With Kaden Elliss officially ruled out for Sundays matchup with Atlanta because of a calf injury, the Saints are already thinner in the middle of their defense than they wanted to be heading into a game that figures to demand physicality. Pete Werner is also carrying a shoulder injury and is questionable, which leaves New Orleans staring at a front-seven setup that could look a lot different against a Falcons team built around Bijan Robinson and the run game.
That puts rookie Brandon Stutsman in line for a much bigger workload at a tricky moment for the Saints. He has been a useful part of the rotation, but this assignment is a different level of responsibility, especially if Werner cannot go and New Orleans has to lean on depth to hold up against Atlantas ground attack. How the Saints handle that personnel shortage will shape a lot of what they try to do defensively on Sunday. [Read more 🡒]