The New Orleans Saints (5-2) enter this week on a three-game winning streak as they welcome the Atlanta Falcons (3-4) on Sunday, November 7 to Caesars Superdome. The narrative is different for the Falcons who are fresh off an ugly home loss to another NFC rival, the Carolina Panthers. Below, we’ll take a look at the early NFL odds and best sportsbook to bet with
Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints
Sunday, November 7, 2021 -1:00 PM EDT at Ceasars Superdome
The Falcons entered last week as a 3-point favorite but are the underdogs for this matchup. As for the Saints, they were 6-point underdogs in Week 9 and are now the favorite this week. According to Bovada (visit our Bovada Review), New Orleans is a 6-point favorite over Atlanta with the over/under at 42.
The Matchup
The Falcons are coming off a 19-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers last Sunday where the defense played a lot better than the offense. We could say this is in part due to the fact that Calvin Ridley was unavailable and will be until the foreseeable future as he takes the time to focus on his mental health. But, the reality of it is, the Falcons don’t need Ridley, they have numerous weapons to use on offense they just couldn’t get the chemistry flowing in Week 8.
Matt Ryan’s hand was stepped on in the middle second quarter and was bleeding like a horror scene from a movie and while he claimed it didn’t bother him, he threw a pick right after the injury and things went downhill from there. The Falcons couldn’t convert the necessary third downs and Younghoe Koo surprisingly missed his field goal attempt of the season. No to mention the fact that Ryan was sacked three times.
So far this season, Ryan has thrown for 1,814 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions on 68.6%. Running backs Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Davis have combined for 526 rushing yards and contributed three touchdowns. Tight end Kyle Pitts now leads Atlanta through the air with 484 passing yards and Patterson is close behind with 333 receiving yards along with a team-high 5 touchdowns. Defensively, Foyesade Oluokun leads the team with 77 total tackles and Jaylinn Hawkins has recorded two interceptions so far.
The Saints will also be without a key starter, quarterback Jameis Winston, who will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury in New Orleans 36-27 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And unfortunately for NOLA, they won’t be getting Drew Brees back. But, that shouldn’t matter after third-string quarterback Trevor Siemian finished last Sunday’s game in admirable fashion, completing 16 of 29 passes for 159 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. The Saints also stepped up, intercepting Tom Brady twice.
Prediction
The Falcons not having Ridley available certainly hampers Atlanta’s offense, but as I said before, they have plenty of other weapons available if they can piece it together. What scares me for this matchup is that the Saints’ defense is a lot better than the Panthers’ so Atlanta’s offense will need to show up ready to be explosive if they want to see points on the board. I believe the Saints can pull off the victory here as Atlanta is still trying to figure out their identity, but I don’t think Atlanta is going to make it that easy for them to
NFL Pick: Atlanta Falcons +6 (-110) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
