New Orleans Saints Week One Preview: Falcons
The Saints will start their 2022 campaign on the road facing off against their bitter rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, in Mercedes Benz Stadium. A new era will get underway in New Orleans as first-year head coach will look to fill the shoes that Sean Payton left. The offseason additions have Saints fans believing that they can compete with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South division title and that will be put to the test in week one.
New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons Game Information:
Current Records: New Orleans Saints (0-0) @ Atlanta Falcons (0-0)
Date/Time: September 11th @ 12:00 p.m. CT
Where: Mercedes Benz Stadium; Atlanta, GA
Where to Watch: FOX (Commentators: Play-By-Play Kenny Albert, Analyst Jonathan Vilma, Reporter Shannon Spake)
Spread: Saints (-5.5)
New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons Series History
The Atlanta Falcons lead the regular season series, 53-52, with the Saints holding a 22-10 advantage over Atlanta since 2016. This will be the first time New Orleans opens their season against the Falcons since the 2014 season.
The two teams split their two-game slate in 2021 where the Atlanta Falcons took the matchup in the Caesar’s Superdome, 27-25. The Saints and the Falcons last met in the 2021 regular season finale where New Orleans won, 30-20.
Previewing the New Orleans Saints Heading into the Season Opener:
The Saints will be looking to bounce back from a 9-8 season in 2021 and missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season. Dennis Allen and company will start off their 17-game regular season slate against the Atlanta Falcons.
New Orleans will get key pieces back on the offensive side as players are coming back from being injured last season. Quarterback Jameis Winston was 5-2 with the Saints last year before suffering a torn ACL against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Along with Winston, the black and gold will be getting wide receiver Michael Thomas back.
A year ago, the Saints offense was plagued with injuries. New Orleans had to start Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill and Ian Book in the rest of the games in the regular season. The wide receiver No. 1 for the Saints last year was Marquez Callaway. Running back Alvin Kamara also dealt with an injury that kept him out for a few games. The quarterback play had an effect on the production we saw from the former Tennessee product.
New Orleans was able to add Jarvis Landry to a one-year contract to add another weapon to the Saints offense. The black and gold also added first-round draft pick Chris Olave into the mix. The Saints will now have Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave as their go-to offensive weapons.
The Saints offensive line suffered a setback in the preseason as Trevor Penning will be out indefinitely and is expected to miss at least four games. James Hurst will look to step into Penning’s role.
Saints Defense Will Remain One of the Best Defenses in the NFL
On the defensive side, New Orleans will be one of the best defenses in the NFL. The black and gold did lose safeties Marcus Williams and Malcolm Jenkins in the offseason. Like on the offensive side, New Orleans was able to add two key players to the mix. The Saints brought in Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye to the Saints secondary.
New Orleans recently traded away Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, so that will leave some big shoes to fill. Expect Alontae Taylor to slide into Gardener-Johnson’s role as Taylor is a versatile defender. The Saints will still be strong in the secondary with cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore, P.J. Williams, Paulson Adebo and Bradley Roby leading the way.
The Saints on the defensive line will be looking for Marcus Davenport to have a breakout year in 2022. The defensive line unit for New Orleans ranked at the top of the NFL in the ability to stop the run. Linebacker Demario Davis put up big numbers for the Saints in 2021 and was a big part in the Saints defense having a big year in 2021.
Scouting the Saints Opponent: Falcons
Atlanta traded away veteran quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts in the offseason. With the loss of Ryan, the Falcons will now turn their attention to Marcus Mariota being the starter going forward for Atlanta. This is a team that many are expecting to be in rebuild mode in 2022.
There are a lot of question marks surrounding this Falcons offense heading into the 2022 season. Atlanta will be missing Calvin Ridley for the entirety of the upcoming season. The Falcons will also be without Russell Gage as he is now on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Atlanta did try to resolve their concerns at the wide receiver position with drafting Drake London in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. London will slide into the WR1 position, but the depth chart after the former USC product is concerning. Olamide Zaccheaus and Bryan Edwards will be the other two starting wide receivers in this Atlanta offense.
The Falcons do have one of the best young tight ends in the NFL with Kyle Pitts and will hope that Cordarrelle Patterson can continue his momentum from a breakout year in 2021.
On the defensive side for Atlanta, they didn’t make any key additions in the offseason on the defensive line. Grady Jarrett will look to wreak havoc in the middle and be the leader of the defensive line unit.
There are a lot of new faces on this Falcons defense. Rashaan Evans, Lorenzo Carter and Casey Hayward will bring veteran presence to a young Atlanta defense. AJ Terrell and Grady Jarrett look to be the best overall players on this defense that will have room for improvement.
Prediction for the Saints Season Opener @ Falcons
The matchup between the Saints and the Falcons is always a grudge match between the two. New Orleans has more talent, but in the NFL any team can be beat on any given Sunday.
Jameis Winston played well in the last season opener with the Saints in Jacksonville against the Green Bay Packers in 2021. Expect him to continue that momentum in the season opener against Atlanta in 2022. Winston will be able to find his weapons and Alvin Kamara will be able to find the endzone once or twice.
The Saints defense will give Marcus Mariota trouble and will be able to change the story of the game with creating a takeaway. Expect this game to be a grudge match in the first half as both teams will be knocking off the rust, but New Orleans will start off the 2022 season on the right note by beating their bitter rivals.
Prediction: New Orleans Saints 31, Atlanta Falcons 17
Photo Credit - Sports illustrated & New Orleans Saints
Tyler Eschette - Sports Scramble/ Olde City Sports Network
