Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
Monday, 12/26/11, 8:30 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: New Orleans -7.5
Current Betting Line: New Orleans -6.5
Opening Total: 53
Current Total: 52
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
The New Orleans Saints will try to clinch the NFC South division title and stay alive for a first-round bye in the playoffs when they host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. The Saints (10-3) have no shot at the top seed in the conference after Green Bay beat Chicago on Sunday night while they are still battling San Francisco for the second spot behind the Packers.
The Falcons (9-5) can earn a playoff spot with a victory in either of their last two games, but winning at New Orleans (-6.5, O/U 52) will be a tough task against a team that has not lost a home game all season. The Saints are a perfect 6-0 at the Superdome both straight-up and against the spread, and they will be going for their third straight win over Atlanta overall.
New Orleans has won the past two meetings in the series on the road as an underdog but lost the last home meeting a year ago in overtime, 27-24. The first meeting this season back in Week 10 was also decided in overtime, as the Falcons fell 26-23 and saw running back Michael Turner get stuffed on their own 29-yard line on a risky fourth down play that handed the Saints great field position and led to the game-winning field goal.
That victory was the second of six in a row overall for New Orleans and ended a three-game winning streak for defending NFC South champion Atlanta. The Falcons have since rebounded to win four of their past five and will have extra rest after beating Jacksonville 41-14 on December 15.
Atlanta got off to a fast start against the Jaguars in the latest victory, leading 27-0 at halftime and 41-0 halfway through the third quarter. The Falcons will need a much better start against the Saints this time around, as they trailed the first meeting 10-6 at halftime before rallying for 10 points in the final 4:13 to force OT.
New Orleans has covered the spread in each of its six games during the team’s current winning streak with four of them decided by double digits. Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting and needs just 305 to break Dan Marino’s single-season NFL record of 5,084 set in 1984.
The UNDER has cashed in three of the past four meetings between the teams. However, the total has gone OVER in the last two games for Atlanta overall after going UNDER in eight straight. The total has also gone UNDER in four of the past six for New Orleans overall.
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