Saints vs. Falcons Pregame Report

The regular season finale for the Saints sees them traveling to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in a must-win Week 18 matchup. The task is straightforward. Win today and take care of business while simultaneously needing the Rams to beat the 49ers. What will happen then is New Orleans sneaking into the final playoff spot in the NFC and traveling to Los Angeles next weekend for the Wild Card.

All-Time Series: The Falcons lead the all-time regular season series 53-51, and also have one postseason win over the Saints from 1991. New Orleans has won 3 out of the past 4 matchups.

Where to Watch: FOX (3:25 p.m. CT), Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin (field reporter)

Where to Stream: Fubo, NFL Mobile, Saints App, FOX Sports Go

Where to Listen: WWL Radio locally (105.3FM) with Mike Hoss, Deuce McAllister, and Steve Geller (sideline reporter); SIRIUS: 119 (NO), 135 (ATL) | XM: 384 (NO), 229 (ATL) | SXM App: 822 (NO), 801 (ATL)

Referee: Craig Wrolstad

Current Lines: Saints -3.5 (O/U at 40)

Jersey Combo: White Jerseys, Gold Pants

Last 5 Matchups

11/7/21 - Falcons 27, Saints 25
12/6/20 - Saints 21, Falcons 16
11/22/20 - Saints 24, Falcons 9
11/28/19 - Saints 26, Falcons 18
11/10/19 - Falcons 26, Saints 9

Broadcast Map (via 506sports): The projected broadcast is in green, with the main draw on FOX being the 49ers at Rams. Obviously, that's the other game that directly has an impact on the Saints.

Saints Storylines

Offensive Line Strength. Ryan Ramczyk enters Sunday questionable, as he's been dealing with a knee injury that has sidelined him for the back half of the season. His last appearance was against the Titans in Week 10. New Orleans won't have Terron Armstead, but getting Ramczyk back allows James Hurst to be at left tackle and the Saints offense to have a pretty strong setup to attack the Falcons.

Sean Payton. Payton has been the center of some fun discussion this week regarding his future. SI.com's Albert Breer wrote about the NFL's Black Monday coming, and how Payton has been the subject of being targeted by the Bears.

There’s a lot of talk through the grapevine about Payton’s future. I think he’ll probably stay with the Saints, where he has a really good setup from a football standpoint and is making very good money. That said, tires will likely be kicked. My sense is he’ll say no on going home to Chicago. And I’ve heard networks are readying to make a run at him, and throw real money at him, to see whether he’d leave the sideline for television. Eventually, my bet is he’ll do that. I just don’t think it’ll happen yet.

Payton has a great setup for him in New Orleans, and he's really been something this season powering through the adversity. While he won't garner much on the Coach of the Year discussion, a win today and getting into the playoffs will really make some finally recognize just how great he's been for the Saints.

Taysom Time. Hill has quietly went 3-1 as a starter for the Saints this season, and a win today and helping get New Orleans into the postseason would help boost his stock some for 2022. While he may be shrugged off quickly as a potential starter for the team for next season, it is encouraging to see some of his growth. It's far from a perfect product, but it feels like things are trending in a better direction.

Saints vs. Falcons Pregame Report - Week 18

Last 5 Matchups

Saints Storylines

Saints-Falcons Coverage From the Week

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