NFL: Previewing the Monday Night Match-Up: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

Tonight’s Monday night match-up should be awesome to watch. The Atlanta Falcons will roll into New Orleans looking to hand the Saints their first loss of the season. This is a huge NFC South battle and the result of this game will go a long way in determining who will win the division this year.

I’ve written many times about how the media really overreacts for a lot of the season. This has been proven time and time again, season after season. There are teams that the media thinks will be great but they end-up being bad. And there are teams that the media thinks will be bad and they get into the playoffs. So, I don’t want to put too much emphasis on this game. However, it is week 8 and the Saints do have the potential to open-up a huge lead in the NFC South.

If the Saints win then they will improve to 7-0 and the Falcons will fall to 4-3. A 3 game lead with 9 left to play isn’t impossible to overcome but it will be difficult. This is especially true given how well the Saints are playing. So, the Falcons better win this game if they really want to make it easy on themselves.

If the Falcons win then they will be 5-2 and the Saints will be 6-1. So, there’ll just be one game separating the 2 teams. And with a game coming up in Atlanta later in the season (on December 13th), the Falcons will actually control their own destiny.

For tonight, look for a lot of passing. Drew Brees and Matt Ryan will be lighting it up. I expect to see at least 50 points scored between the two teams. If the Saints bring their “A” game then they will win this game by at least 10 points. But I don’t know that the Saints will be at their best. And I think Atlanta is ready to let it all hang out.

So, I’m going with Atlanta to win this one by about 4 points.

But it should be a great game and a lot of fun to watch.