Atlanta Falcons (9-5 SU, 6-6-2 ATS) at New Orleans Saints (11-3 SU, 10-4 ATS), Monday December 26th, 2011. 8:30PM EST, NFL Football Week 16, Superdome New Orleans, L.A.
By Jay Horne, NFL Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Atl +6.5/N.O. -6.5
Over/Under Total: 53
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Two surging NFC powerhouses will collide inside the Superdome this Monday Night when the New Orleans Saints battle the Atlanta Falcons. Both teams will ride into Monday Night's showdown fresh off blowout victories and will look to keep the momentum going. The Saints are winners of 6 straight games and responsible for blowing out the Vikings last week 42-20. The Falcons have won their last 4 of 5 games and completely demolished the Jaguars 41-14 on the Thursday Night stage a week ago. Now both teams look to prove they are among the best in the NFC as they take the stage in a big time Monday Night Football contest.
Atlanta has maintained a strong rushing offense all year behind running back Michael Turner who has rushed for 1,129 yards and 9 touchdowns so far this season. However, the Falcons recent offensive success can be credited to the surging passing offense with QB Matt Ryan at the helm. Ryan is coming off an extremely impressive outing against Jacksonville last week. The Falcons star quarterback completed 19 of 26 passing for 224 yards with 3 touchdowns in that blowout victory and he has really been playing well as of late.
Veteran wide out Roddy White is the primary target for the passing offense and rightfully so. Last week, White has eclipsed the 1,100 yard receiving mark for the 5th straight season and has added 8 touchdowns to his resume. However, it has been the emergence of rookie wide out Julio Jones in recent weeks that has really boosted the offense. While Ryan primarily targets White, Jones has provided the big plays averaging over 22 yards per catch over the last 3 games. Along with White, both Jones and TE Tony Gonzalez have outside chances to reach the 1,000 yard receiving plateau as well. That stat alone should paint the picture of how talented this Atlanta offense can be.
On the other side of the field, the New Orleans offense has breezed by opponents as of late. Yes, pun intended. QB Drew Brees has been absolutely outstanding and is coming off a huge outing against the Vikings last week. In that game, Brees completed 32 of 40 passing for 412 yards with 5 touchdowns and 0 picks. The Saints star quarterback posted an insane 149.2 quarterback rating in that contest and he has been extremely hot over the last several weeks with no signs of slowing down. Wide outs Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston have been on the good side of the majority of Brees' passing completions. Graham leads the team with 1,171 receiving yards (5th in NFL) and Colston has racked up 917 yards to his credit as well this season.
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Remember these two teams met earlier this year in what turned out to be a quarterback duel between both Brees and Ryan. Brees completed 30 of 43 passing for 322 yards with 2 scores in that game while Ryan completed 29 of 52 passing for 351 yards with 2 scores and 1 pick. Of course the Saints pulled out a 26-23 overtime victory in that game in what was a back and forth contest. The question is which quarterback will have the upper hand in the rematch? Hopefully this Monday we can have another similar exciting contest from both quarterbacks when two of the hottest teams in the NFC square off for round 2.
Jay's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: The Falcons outplayed the Saints earlier this year by running the football and actually out gained New Orleans 481-363 in that game. The Saints tend to play much better at home, but I still like the Falcons here with a few extra days rest from their previous Thursday night win. Over the last few years, Atlanta really starts playing well about this time and they are 9-1 ATS in games taken place in the last 4 weeks of the season. Expect another nail bitter in the Superdome. Take Atlanta +6.5.
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