New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons Betting Preview

The New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons has become one of the best rivalries in the entire NFL. It's what happens when you have two great quarterbacks and two highly competitive teams that meet each other twice a year.

But what happens when one of those quarterbacks is out with an injury? If you're the Saints, battling it out for the top playoff seed in the NFC, not much. You don't really miss a beat.

These two teams will square off on Sunday in an important game for the NFC playoff standings.

The Line: Saints (-3) at Falcons

New Orleans is the favorite on the road, and for good reason. The last time the Saints lost it was September. 

The team doesn't have Drew Brees currently, but no problem. The defense has been lights out, giving up just 28 total points in the last four weeks combined.

Atlanta, for its part, has also been playing well of late. Five straight losses to begin the season sunk the Falcons' playoff chances, but they are winners in three of the last four, including last week's shocking 43-6 drubbing of the Raiders. 

Still, being home underdogs is the right call, especially when you consider that lone loss in November came to these same New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans Saints

With a 9-2 record and Dunkel Index rating of 144.687 - good for fourth overall in the NFL and first in the NFC - New Orleans is focused on the Super Bowl. Rightfully so, as the Saints sit one game ahead of the Packers and Seahawks for the NFC's top seed.

Having gone on injured reserve, technically, this is the last game Brees has to miss, though an exact timeline on his return from multiple broken ribs is still up in the air. 

There doesn't appear to be any reason to rush him back. Taysom Hill is 2-0 in place of Brees as the starting quarterback, and each win was an easy walk in the park.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons (ranked 20th in the NFL with a Dunkel Index rating of 135.917) are much harder to figure out. Is this the team that lost to Detroit? Or is this the team that just obliterated the playoff-contending Raiders? 

Matt Ryan is still a top-tier quarterback. Julio Jones is still one of the best wide receivers in the league. And overall, this is a top 10 offense capable of big plays and big games.

The defense, however, ranks 27th overall (just ahead of the Jets) and 31st against the pass (beating out only the Seahawks). When Hill made his first career start two weeks ago, it was this defense that allowed him to rack up 282 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.

The Pick

Las Vegas set the line at Saints -3, but the Dunkel Index has it much worse than that for Atlanta. The Dunkel prediction has New Orleans cruising to a nine-point win. 

Dunkel also likes the Saints defense to play big in this game, keeping the total score under the Las Vegas line of 46.

The smart money is on the Saints and the under.