The New Orleans Saints are no longer undefeated after last week’s 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was an offensive struggle until the fourth quarter where 24 of the 27 total points were scored.
Now the NFC South title race is tighter as each team has a 2-1 or 1-2 record. Next for the Black and Gold is a road test against their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Dirty Birds’ lone win came on Monday Night Football against the Eagles and lost last week on Sunday Night Football 22-17 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kickoff inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for noon on Sunday, September 29th.
QUESTIONS ON THE INTERIOR
Erik McCoy’s injury will be a huge blow for the Saints over the coming weeks as the All-Pro center was put on IR. Another player that’ll be missing for the Black and Gold will be right guard Cesar Ruiz as he’ll be out of Sunday’s game due to a knee injury.
New Orleans will likely move left guard Lucas Patrick to center and have other backups play the guard positions. Odds are that those positions could be filled by either Oli Udoh, Nick Saldiveri, or Shane Lemieux.
That leaves just rookie tackle Taliese Fuaga and right tackle Trevor Penning as the only healthy starters for the Saints. This also means that none of the offensive linemen that’ll start on Sunday for New Orleans started at their spot last season since almost all of the players on this side of the trenches are either new or are playing a new position.
Atlanta is dealing with a similar issue as their starting center, Drew Dalman was also put on IR and they’ll be without right tackle Kaleb McGary.
WHO PLAYS RB
Not only are the offensive lines for both teams a concern but it’s still not set in stone on who will play running back.
The Saints and Falcons each have prolific ball carriers on their roster with New Orleans having the seasoned veteran Alvin Kamara and Atlanta with the young buck, Bijan Robinson. Each player has their styles of play that make them great but we may be limited on what we see from them in this contest. Both have landed on the injury report as Kamara has been dealing with his hip and ribs while Robinson was limited with a shoulder injury earlier in the week.
New Orleans should be getting Taysom Hill back and still has Jamaal Williams on their roster in case Kamara isn’t a full go. Atlanta can put in others like Tyler Allgeier, who has a history of gashing the defense of the Saints.
BATTLE OF THE SECONDARIES
These two teams are built similarly. Each quarterback is at least 33 years of age or older, has heavy draft capital invested into the offensive line to help their superstar running backs, and their secondaries are at the top of the league.
The Saints are more well-rounded with plenty of depth at cornerback as some of those pieces can play in the slot or at safety if need be. The Falcons on the other hand have arguably the best safety tandem in the NFL with Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons.
With the patchwork offensive lines and limited running backs, there could be fewer points on the scoreboard as it could be a challenge for Derek Carr and Kirk Cousins to have success through the air too.
SERIES RECORD: Saints Lead 55-54
Last 5 Meetings:
2024: SAINTS 48 – FALCONS 17
2023: FALCONS 24 – SAINTS 15
2022: SAINTS 21 – FALCONS 18
2022: SAINTS 27 – FALCONS 26
2021: SAINTS 30 – FALCONS 20
STAT LEADERS
SAINTS
Derek Carr: 44-of-64, 585 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT
Alvin Kamara: 61 carries, 285 yards, 4 TD
Chris Olave: 12 catches, 178 yards, 1 TD
Alontae Taylor: 3.5 Sacks
Paulson Adebo: 20 tackles (18 solo)
Tyrann Mathieu: 2 INT
Blake Grupe: 7-of-7 Field Goals, Long of 57, 10-of-11 PAT
FALCONS
Kirk Cousins: 56-of-84, 626 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
Bijan Robinson: 48 carries, 196 yards, 1 TD
Darnell Mooney: 12 catches, 169 yards, 1 TD
Matthew Judon & Grady Jarrett: 1.5 Sacks
Troy Anderson & Kaden Ellis: 27 Tackles (15 & 12 solo)
Jessie Bates & Justin Simmons: 1 INT
Younghoe Koo: 5-of-5 Field Goals, Long of 54, 4-of-4 PAT
NOTABLE INJURIES:
Saints
Derek Carr, QB, Groin, Probable
Taysom Hill, TE, Chest, Probable
D’Marco Jackson, LB, Calf, Questionable
Khalen Saunders, DL, Calf, Questionable
Landon Young, OT, Foot, Questionable
Alontae Taylor, CB, Illness, Probable
Demario Davis, LB, Hamstring, Out
Alvin Kamara, RB, Hip/Ribs, Questionable
Cesar Ruiz, OG, Knee, Out
A.T. Perry, WR, Hamstring, Out
Cedrick Wilson, WR, Ankle, Questionable
Chris Olave, WR, Hamstring, Questionable
Falcons
Kaleb McGary, OT, Knee, Out
Matthew Judon, LB, Hamstring, Questionable
Bijan Robinson, RB, Shoulder, Questionable
Ta’Quon Graham, DL, Rest, Probable
David Onyemata, DL, Rest, Probable
Grady Jarrett, DL, Rest, Probable