Should Falcons Trust Ridder In Second Stint As Quarterback?
Oddsmakers Give Higher Probability To Atlanta When Looking At the Saints vs Falcons Line
The New Orleans Saints will look to get back over .500 with a road game against the 4-6 Atlanta Falcons.
While the Saints have lost three of their last five games, the Falcons have struggled even more, losing four of their previous five.
However, the NFC South is wide open. The Saints currently lead the division with just five wins. Atlanta can return to the top with a win against New Orleans this weekend.
Oddsmakers believe the Falcons have a higher probability. Atlanta is is at a dead-even pick ’em at -110 to each side. Meanwhile, the total for this game is at 42.5.
Who will win this NFC South rivalry matchup on Sunday?
Take a look at the Saints vs Falcons line for this weekend’s exciting NFL matchup.
New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons 
Day/Time:
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Streaming: FOX
Saints vs Falcons Line & Trends
The Saints and Falcons have both been terrible against the spread this year. The Falcons have covered just two of ten games. They’ve also lost their last three games against this spread as 3.5-point favorites or lower.
The total has hit the Under in six of ten games for the Falcons.
On the other hand, the Saints have hit the Under in seven of their games. However, they’re also poor against the spread, with a 2-7-1 record.
The Saints have lost their last two games against the spread and are 1-4 in their previous five. New Orleans was a favorite in all of those games.
Finally, the Saints have earned a win over Atlanta in three straight. The Falcons still covered the spread in the last two despite losing. This is the first time Atlanta is the favorite since 2018. The Saints were 1.5-point favorites on September 23, 2018, and won in overtime, 43-37.
Michael Thomas is Back On The IR
The Injured Reserve is too familiar to Michael Thomas. He’s landed on the injured reserve for another NFL season after an injury to his knee.
Thomas was injured in the loss to the Vikings in Week 10. They spent the bye week healing, but Thomas needs more time to improve.
He’s not eligible to return to the field until December 21 for Week 16 against the Rams.
His injury history suggests it could be time for Thomas to hang it up. He had an ankle injury in the 2020 season opener. Before the 2021 season, Thomas had ankle surgery and missed the entire season.
Then, in 2022, Thomas dislocated his toe in Week 3 and missed the rest of that season.
When he returned this season, many Saints fans were hyped. But he hasn’t made a huge impact this year and will now land on the IR again.
Atlanta Committing To Desmond Ridder Again
The Falcons began the season with Desmond Ridder. But after slight improvement in the first half of the season, the Falcons made a change and put Taylor Heinicke at quarterback for a couple of games.
Henicke got hurt in Atlanta’s most recent loss to Arizona, allowing Ridder to showcase his ability again. Ridder didn’t lead the Falcons to victory. But Atlanta was confident and excited about the progress that Ridder has made.
As they headed into their bye week, the Falcons acknowledged that Ridder would be back to starting games for them.
Ridder only has six passing touchdowns this season. He’s been inconsistent and has the Falcons at 4-6 on the season. But he’ll get the starts at quarterback for the rest of the year.
We’ll see how he develops over the last portion of the season.
Atlanta’s Defense Is Struggling
At the start of the season, the Falcons had a really good defense. They surprised many, which ultimately allowed the Falcons to win some games earlier this season with Ridder at quarterback.
After all, the Falcons have only scored 18.9 points per game. The defense doesn’t have much room for error. But now that Atlanta’s defense has struggled over the last month, things have gone downhill.
The Falcons have allowed at least 24 points in four of their last five games. In those four games, the Falcons have lost all of them. The offense has done well over the previous few games, earning at least 23 points in their last three games. But that’s not enough against most NFL teams.
Atlanta’s averaging 204.9 yards in the air and 130.4 yards on the ground. Bijan Robinson leads the team in rushing with 612 yards, but he’s only got two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Derek Carr is healthy enough to start for the Saints this weekend. The passing game has had its ups and downs. But more importantly, the running game has been super weak. But while the Falcons are dominant against the run defensively, the Saints should be able to exploit the secondary of the Falcons.
Ridder won’t have the easiest of times throwing the football against New Orleans’ secondary.
Ridder isn’t playing with any NFL receiving leaders. But the Falcons still have a chance to earn the top spot in the NFC South standings. A win against the Saints would help their Super Bowl odds. We think it’s unlikely that the Falcons win this game.
After reviewing the Saints vs Falcons line, we’ll back the Saints at +1.5 (-120).
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