Atlanta Falcons (+6) at New Orleans Saints
In what should be one of the better games of the Week 16 slate, we’ve got the best rivalry the Southeast has to offer in part deux of the Atlanta Falcons versus the New Orleans Saints. Normally, I get burned to a crisp when I pick my hometown Falcons. They are the most Atlanta of Atlanta teams. But you know what? Gimme them getting six points on the road in Nawlins.
See, these two teams absolutely hate each other. Like fans of both teams don’t give handshakes during biannual meetings. They throw eggs at each other like Will Ferrell does snowballs in Elf. The rivalry between these two is very real. These games are intense and are almost always decided by a last-second field goal.
It should be an unwritten rule. If a team is getting more than three points in this rivalry game, you take them without even blinking. Is Atlanta going to win the Battle of Mercedes-Benz, round two? Probably not, the Saints are mad they lost two weeks ago, plus they have Alvin Kamara back in the backfield.
However, we’re looking at a Wil Lutz game-winning 50-yard field goal to decide this thing in either four or five frames. Atlanta is not going to lose by a touchdown, but the Falcons will lose by a field goal to fall to 9-6. This game is going to be incredible, as long as Drew Brees and Matt Ryan aren’t garbage like they were two weeks ago.