New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons – NFL, Week 13, 2020

Week 13 kicks off with the National Football League leaders New Orleans Saints heading to Atlanta looking to extend their winning streak to nine.

However, it won’t be straightforward, given Atlanta has picked up their form recently. After losing five games in a row, they have won 4 of their last 6 matches.

The Saints can seal a playoff spot with a win here and if other results go their way. They will be confident given the fact that they have beaten the Falcons on the last two occasions, and they have won 5 of the last 6 head to head games.

They actually beat Atlanta a couple of weeks back, 24-9.

The bookmakers are expecting a tight game here, setting the spread at just 3 points with the Saints as their favorite.

Based on New Orleans’s comfortable win two weeks ago, this makes betting on the Saints very appealing.

The Saints are going from strength to strength right now. They reduced their opponents to a single figure score for the 3rd time in their last 4 games with a 31-3 win last time out.

Although they are missing star quarterback Drew Brees, they do have a good record in his absence recently. They have won their last seven games when he has been out.

As mentioned, the Saint’s success this season has been a result of having the best defensive record in the league bar none.

Trey Hendrickson has been a key figure for the Saints defensively as he has the third most average sacks per game in the league.

The Saints don’t give much away as they sit 2nd in average rushing yards against in the league and 5th in least passing yards.

The Falcons had a convincing 43-6 victory over the Raiders last time out. They will be hoping that their defense continues in that trend, given that they sit 27th in the points against standings.

This is largely contributed by the fact that they have surrendered the most passing yards in the league except for the Seahawks.

Going forward, they are heavily reliant on Matt Ryan, who sits 5th in the passing standings. If he doesn’t fire, they tend to struggle as they did when he was sacked a total of 17 times in the last two encounters with the Saints.

Atlanta welcomes back wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, who has been out after testing positive for COVID-19 but has lost the services of Olamide Zaccheaus, who is out with a toe injury.

Given the fact that the Saints can seal a playoff spot with a win here, I can’t see complacency kicking in. I expect them to continue their winning streak with a win here over the Falcons.

The Saints are good everywhere the Falcons are not, so I recommend taking the generous odds offered on a New Orleans win.