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New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons Betting Preview

One of the highlights of the Week 13 NFL schedule is an NFC South rivalry game between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. These teams met two weeks ago, with the Saints winning at home 24-9. This time around, the Falcons are 3-point underdogs at home, with the over/under set at 46 points.

Despite that loss in New Orleans, the Falcons have been coming on strong since starting the season 0-5. Atlanta is 4-2 under interim coach Raheem Morris and fresh off a dominating 43-6 win over the Raiders last week. At 4-7, Atlanta’s playoff hopes are slim, as the Falcons are two games out of a playoff spot. But they can keep those slim hopes alive with a win.

Meanwhile, the Saints own the best record in the NFC and are starting to pull away from Tampa Bay in the NFC South. Sean Payton’s team has rattled off eight straight wins, putting them three games ahead of the Buccaneers in the loss column. They’ve also won four consecutive games by at least 14 points, so they’ve been dominant during the second half of the season.

Taysom Time

The Saints have made a relatively smooth transition to Taysom Hill being the starting quarterback in place of the injured Drew Brees. Obviously, the offense looks a lot different, and Hill didn’t look particularly impressive throwing the ball in last week’s win over the Broncos. But Hill proved two weeks ago against the Falcons that he can be a competent passer. Perhaps more importantly, the Saints have two capable running backs and a nice contingent of receivers, especially with Michael Thomas healthy. Hill’s running abilities also add an element New Orleans doesn’t have with Brees.

After the first meeting between these teams, the onus is on the Atlanta defense to make adjustments. Hill completed 18 of his 23 passes against the Falcons while the Saints had three separate rushers with at least 45 yards on the ground, including Hill. Last week’s win over the Raiders notwithstanding, the Atlanta defense has been mostly unreliable this year, so it’s up to Morris to find some answers.

Grounded

A week ago, the Falcons may have had the most misleading 43-point total in NFL history. They got seven points from their defense and also settled for five field goals. It was the second straight game that Matt Ryan was a little out of rhythm. Ryan is capable of bouncing back and having a big game. But the Atlanta offense is riddled with injuries at the moment. Most notably, Julio Jones and Todd Gurley missed last week’s game, and if those two continue to sit, it’ll be difficult for the Falcons to take flight.

There’s also the matter of the New Orleans defense, which has arguably been the best in the NFL over the last month. Of course, they had it easy against a quarterback-less Denver team last week. But over the previous month, the Saints have limited the Falcons to nine points and held Tampa’s high-flying offense to just three points, so things are trending upward for the New Orleans defense.

Cloud Nine

A lot is working against the Falcons heading into this game. That doesn’t even include the fact that they’re playing perhaps the hottest team in football. Outside of Hill having an absolutely dreadful game, the Saints are likely to win by a comfortable margin. Bet on New Orleans to win and cover.

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