New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons - 9/11/22 NFL Picks and Prediction
The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons face off on Sunday in a Week 1 NFL showdown at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Saints finished last season with a 9-8 record overall, but they believe they are a team that can compete for the NFC South title. Jameis Winston was injured last season, but he is back healthy. Winston last year only threw three interceptions and if he can limit those again this season, he should be in great shape. The big question for the Saints heading into this game is the status of Michael Thomas. He is still with a hamstring injury and is questionable for this game. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best wide receivers in football. The Saints did draft Chris Olave and he should be a difference maker in this game.
On the other side of this matchup is the Falcons who might be going through a bit of a rebuild. Matt Ryan is off to the Indianapolis Colts and in is Marcus Mariota, who is trying to resurrect his career. The team also drafted Desmond Ridder, but he won’t play in this game unless Mariota is injured. Last season the Falcons defense wasn’t good, and this season it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a whole lot better. If the Falcons want any chance in this game, the defense is going to need to be good. Wide receiver Drake London is dealing with a knee injury and it’s unclear if he will be able to go in this game.
The Saints are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games overall. The Falcons are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games against the NFC. The road team is 5-1 against the spread in the last six meetings.
I really don’t trust this Falcons defense to do a whole lot of anything in this game. Winston cleaned up his turnovers last season and he is going to pick this Falcons defense apart. Look for the Falcons to give up at least 28 points here and that is going to be the difference here as the Saints get the job done. Back the Saints against the spread.