Each NFL division’s most significant rivalry of all time
By John Buhler
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints
This has to be the most underrated rivalry in the NFL. The south tends to get overlooked by the national media for some reason, but the rivalry between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints is one of the pettiest and most caustic rivalries in the NFL today. It was forged a long time ago in obscurity in the late 1960s.
The Falcons currently hold a slight 53-49 edge in this rivalry. The Dirty Birds also won the only playoff game between the two back in 1991. Since 1967 when the Saints joined the NFL as an expansion team the year after the Falcons, these southern rivals have grown to absolutely hate each other, having met each other on the gridiron 102 times. It’s a professional SEC football rivalry.
For the first 35 years of this rivalry, neither team was well run. Usually, they’d duke it out for third place in the old NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams or the San Francisco 49ers taking home the division crown. But things quickly changed in the early 2000s for the Falcons and Saints. Arthur Blank bought the Falcons in 2002. Sean Payton and Drew Brees arrived in New Orleans in 2006.
From Big Ben Right, to Steve Gleasing blocking Michael Koenen‘s punt, to BountyGate, to 28-3, few franchises enjoy sticking it to the other like the Falcons and Saints do. These rivals truly relish in each other’s misfortune. Atlanta has been more corporate, while New Orleans has been more parochial. This is the southern equivalent of the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.