New Orleans Saints
vs.
Atlanta Falcons
8:20 PM ET
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
TV: NFL Network
Live Blog: You're Already Here
Despite their 0-4 start, the New Orleans Saints find themselves in the NFC Wild Card playoff hunt. But at 5-6, the Saints have very litte margin for further error.
Fortunately for the Saints, they're playing a team they have dominated over the past few years: their NFC South rivals Atlanta Falcons.
New Orleans has proved to be the only team the ascendant Atlanta Falcons have trouble beating over the last few years, at least in the regular season. The Falcons have lost their last four straight games against the Saints. And since Week 6 of last year, they are 18-1 against the rest of the league, per ESPN Stats and Info.
So far this year, New Orleans is the only team to get the best of Atlanta, winning 31-27 at the Superdome in Week 10. But according to Falcons receiver Roddy White, that had nothing to do with the Saints.
"I feel like we kind of gave it away. We just gave it to them," he said after the loss, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It wasn’t nothing they did. It was what we did in not cashing in on opportunities. We play them against in three weeks and we’ll be ready."
If the Falcons can finally get past the Saints on Thursday night, not only will they improve 11-1 but they'll also hurt their rivals' playoff hopes and the chances they meet again in January.
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