Saints vs. Falcons: NFC South leverage at stake in Week 3
The Atlanta Falcons hope to keep rolling in the NFC South as they welcome the New Orleans Saints to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Week 3.
The Atlanta Falcons haven’t had even close to the ideal start to the 2018 season. A team that has been exceptionally healthy over the last two seasons is decidedly not so heading into Week 3, having lost Deion Jones and Keanu Neal, in addition to momentarily being without Devonta Freeman. This, of course, is all music to the ears of the New Orleans Saints.
Having said that, this season hasn’t started out the way the Saints had planned either. They began the year getting blown out by another team in the NFC South, the Buccaneers. That was followed up with a near loss and close win to the Cleveland Browns last week. Alvin Kamara hasn’t been nearly as explosive as he was last season to this point, nor has Marshon Lattimore and the defense.
With all that the Falcons are currently dealing with, it’s not hard to expect their defense to be much worse off. However, the offense can still make things happen, with Tevin Coleman filling in for Freeman and weapons like Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley for Matt Ryan to utilize in the passing game.
So then, what are the specifics for Sunday’s game? Let’s take a look.
TV and Game Info
Date: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018
Start Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Location: Atlanta, GA
Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
TV Info: FOX
Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket, FuboTV
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This line has dropped significantly throughout the week as the Falcons were once heavy favorites at home. Now that’s clearly not so much the case as the Saints are creeping this line closer and closer to a pick ’em.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Atlanta -2
Moneyline: Atlanta -125, New Orleans +115
Over/Under: 53.5
All odds courtesy of Odds Shark
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Prediction
Though the Saints haven’t looked quite right to start the season, I can’t count them out. After all, they started 0-2 last season and completely turned that around. Thus, I think a similar path starts in Atlanta this weekend against the Falcons. New Orleans should come out and pick up the win against a depleted Atlanta defense.
Final Score: New Orleans 27, Atlanta 21