It’s an NFC South showdown in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana this weekend. Kirk Cousins and the Falcons will take on Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints will be led by interim head coach Darren Rizzi. Let’s dive in and take a look at this Falcons-Saints preview and predictions.
The Atlanta Falcons come into this one with a 6-3 record, winners of five of their last six games, including a win over the Saints in Week 4 26-24. Wide receiver Drake London continues to get limited work in practice, while he says he “feels great” it’s up to the doctors and team if he plays Sunday with a hip injury. Grady Jarrett is in the same boat as London and hopes to play. White tight end Kyle Pitts has also been limited with a hamstring but looks promising to play.
The Saints started the season 2-0 with big wins and shocked the NFL world. Unfortunately for them, the shock didn’t last long. Since that 2-0 start, the Falcons have lost seven in a row, including to the Carolina Panthers last week. That was the final straw for ownership, and Dennis Allen was relieved of his duties as head coach. Darren Rizzi takes over with the interim tag. The team will likely be without Chris Olave, and rookie defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry.
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints Preview and Predictions Video
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints Preview and Predictions
Alvin Kamara Over 37.5 Receiving Yards (-125)
Alvin Kamara has always been a threat in the passing game. With the absence of Chris Olave this weekend in addition to already missing Rasheed Shaheed and Bub Means who are already on IR, Kamara will need to step up even more.
In his last two games against the Falcons, he’s cleared this number including earlier this season when he caught seven passes for 42 yards. Alvin has cleared this number in six of nine games this season including the last two weeks.
New Orleans Saints +3.5 (-105)
The New Orleans Saints get the coaching bump this week! Since 2020 teams who fire their head coach in-season, are 9-3 against the spread the following week. It’s a trend we see with both coaches and quarterbacks. When the Panthers benched Bryce Young earlier this year, they won the next week with Andy Dalton.
The thinking is simple, the team knows the coach or quarterback is a problem, and when they are relieved of their duty everyone feels a sense of relief and steps up right away. Generally it doesn’t last, but we just need it to work this week! The Saints kept it close on the road in Week 4 and I believe they will again this week.
