4 things to watch in New Orleans Saints’ regular-season finale against rival Atlanta Falcons
The New Orleans Saints (8-8) play the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) on Sunday in Caesars Superdome. The Saints still have a chance to make the playoffs. Here are 4 things to watch as Dennis Allen’s team tries to keep its postseason quest alive.
Taking care of business
As the season draws to a close, the Saints remain a viable postseason contender despite their ups and downs. But they’ll need help getting in. To win the NFC South, the Saints must defeat the Falcons and hope that the Carolina Panthers defeat the Tampa Bay Bucs.
To guarantee the seventh wildcard place, the Saints need to defeat the Falcons in addition to the Chicago Bears defeating the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals defeating the Seattle Seahawks.
The Saints insist they won’t be scoreboard watching, and they shouldn’t. If they don’t beat the Falcons, nothing else matters. And the Falcons are still in the hunt for the division title too, just needing a win coupled with a Panthers win. The Saints have lost to the Falcons once this season, so this one probably won’t be easy.
Stopping the run
If the Saints can’t stop Atlanta’s rushing attack, it could be a long day. The Falcons ran for 228 yards in the first meeting six weeks ago in a 24-15 Atlanta victory. The Saints won when the two teams met last December, but the Falcons still managed to rack up 231 yards on the ground.
The Falcons, led by rookie Bijan Robinson, rank 8th in the league in rushing yards per game (130.1). Robinson ran for 91 yards in the first meeting this season and Tyler Allgeier had 64 yards. Stopping the run hasn’t been the Saints’ strength this season, but they are coming off one of their best performances.
They limited Tampa Bay to just 57 yards rushing last week. It helped that the Saints jumped out to an early lead, forcing the Bucs to throw since they were playing from behind. Doing that again and putting the game in the hands of the Falcons’ QB would help.
Code red
New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill (7) runs near Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford (20) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Will the red zone be the dead zone, as it was far too often this season? Or will the Saints be red hot inside the 20, which has been the case lately. Derek Carr and Company are hoping it’s the latter. The Saints were a dismal 0-for-5 in the red zone when they played the Falcons in Atlanta in November.
That’s back when the Saints were near the bottom of the league in converting touchdowns in the red zone. Dennis Allen’s decision to practice red zone offense each week on Thursday and Friday (as opposed to just Friday) has paid off. The Saints have improved to 18th, scoring on 51.9 % of their trips to the red zone.
They are 8 of 13 in the red zone their last four games, a big reason the Saints have won 3 of their last 4. Keeping that type of efficiency would help them avenge that November loss.
One last hurrah?
The Superdome has felt a little different these past few months, mostly due to the fans being frustrated with the way the season has gone. There have been boos at times, many directed towards Carr and the offense.
This is an opportunity for the Saints (8-8) to finish on a high note, even if they don’t make the playoffs. Additionally, it’s an opportunity for Dennis Allen to earn his first winning season as a coach by finishing the season with a winning record. This season, the Saints are 4-3 in the Dome, but none of those victories (against the Titans, Bears, Giants, and Panthers) came against teams that are now in the winning column.
Thus, their greatest desire is to end this season with a victory over a team that still has a chance to qualify for the postseason. Furthermore, it’s the Falcons.
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