The Atlanta Falcons want to prove their bounce-back win wasn’t a fluke, while the Saints have important injury concerns. These teams meet on Monday Night Football in Week 4, and here are bold predictions for the contest.
Despite both teams holding a 1-2 record, they are tied for first place in the NFC South. The Falcons hammered the Packers last week while the Saints took a tough 35-27 loss to the Raiders.
Let’s take a look at what to expect when these division rivals go head to head.
Saints QB Tyler Shough will throw for 300 yards and two TDs
The Falcons have a good run defense, ranking No. 1 in the NFL by allowing just 47.7 yards per game. However, their pass defense has been suspect as they rank No. 29. Look for Shough to attack the Falcons with a high percentage of passing plays.
Shough may not be a season-long star in fantasy circles, but he can still be good on a weekly basis, according to fantasylife.com.
“Can Shough keep up (this) pace all season? That seems unlikely, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t continue to be fantasy-viable,” Matt LaMarca wrote. “The Saints have dropped back on 69% of their offensive plays this season, which is the second-highest frequency in the league. They’re No. 7 in Dropback Over Expectation (DBOE), and that’s probably not going to change with Travis Etienne now set to miss some time. Shough should be started with confidence against the Falcons.”
One thing about this matchup is points. The Saints should be able to get into the end zone at least three times. This should be a high-scoring game. And without Etienne, Shough’s TD likely grows both through the air and on the ground. It wouldn’t be shocking for him to get a third touchdown with a running score.
The Saints are coming off a tough loss, and that could factor into their performance in a home game on national TV. Head coach Kellen Moore said his team should learn from the loss to the Raiders, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think in many ways, there is a lot of good stuff on this film,” Moore said of the Raiders game. “As painful as this loss is, as frustrating as this loss is, we can’t let this thing linger too long. We were in a position to finish that game. And we didn’t finish it. We had our opportunities and were not able to get it done. We have to recognize the entire film, not just the ending.
Shough said part of his own job is maintaining composure in tough situations.
“It goes back to going to the next play and how do you go back to the next play,” Shough said. “They made a couple of good plays. At the end of the day, it’s football. Stuff like that’s going to happen, and I think we understand how we fix that more than anything, and it’s staying neutral throughout it. We’re not going to fall victim to riding that emotional wave. At the end of the day, we lost, and we have some plays that we can fix in order to win.”
Saints WR Chris Olave will post 3rd 100-yard receiving game of the season
Let’s face it. The Falcons cannot cover Olave. They will not cover Olave. The only thing that will limit Olave’s ceiling for this game is target share. A few double-team coverages may limit Olave on a handful of plays, but otherwise, he’s busting loose on this Falcons secondary.
Part of the problem with covering Olave is the creativity of Moore, who explained some of it after the win over the Ravens, according to neworleanssaints.com.
Article Continues Below“Yes, I thought there were some layering opportunities [with] just the way they were covering ‘C.O.' to kind of create some more layers to the defense and pass game,” Moore said. “We were playing just behind the sticks. It wasn't good [during] the early part of that game and even into the third quarter where we just had way too many penalties, first-and-long [situations], second-and-long [situations and] third-and-forevers. That is a really, really rough formula. We can't play that way consistently, but our guys got through it.”
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Another thing that helps Olave is the Saints’ mindset. The team seems to be on the verge of being a playoff contender. Beating the Ravens helped that, Olave said.
“They've been an AFC contender for the past couple years,” Olave said. “So, I just feel like if we believe, and we have faith in each other, that we could be a great team over here. I feel like that drives confidence into us to be able to get a win — come over here and get a win and go into next week.”
Olave also said Shough makes a difference for him.
“Tyler [Shough] is a leader of our team, man,” Olave said. “Just the way he battles, the way he takes the hits, the way he scrambles, the way he could extend plays — I am a huge believer in him. You all always know that.”
Falcons WR Drake London will get over 100 yards again
Don’t look for a repeat of the 194-yard effort against the hapless Packers. Yards will be tougher to come by against the Saints. But London is the guy who moves the Falcons’ passing attack. And Michael Penix Jr. is looking for him.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said London has tons of ability, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think Drake’s skillset — he can do many things — and one of the things he can do is elevate to get the football or be able to play it,” Stefanski said. “With his background in basketball, just his body control is elite. So understanding how Drake wins. Where he wants the football. There’s a lot of conversation that happens between the players in this case, which I think is also valuable.”