Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints 1/9/22 NFL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints meet Sunday afternoon in a week 18 NFL NFC South battle at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The New Orleans Saints need a win here to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Atlanta Falcons need a win after losing six of their last 10 games.

The New Orleans Saints have won five of their last seven road games. Taysom Hill completing 56.8 percent of his passes for 871 yards, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Deonte Harris and Marquez Callaway have combined for 1,244 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns, while Alvin Kamara has 45 receptions. The New Orleans Saints ground game is averaging 112.3 yards per contest, and Kamara leads the way with 752 yards and 4 touchdowns. Defensively, New Orleans is allowing 19.7 points and 322.1 yards per game. Demario Davis leads the New Orleans Saints with 100 tackles, Cameron Jordan has 11.5 sacks and PJ Williams has 3 interceptions.

The Atlanta Falcons have lost five of their last six home games. Matt Ryan is completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,752 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Kyle Pitts and Russell Gage have combined for 1,662 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns, while Cordarrelle Patterson has 51 receptions. The Atlanta Falcons ground game is averaging 86.8 yards per contest, and Patterson leads the way with 607 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensively, Atlanta is allowing 26.8 points and 364.1 yards per game. Foyesade Oluokun leads the Atlanta Falcons with 179 tackles, Dante Fowler Jr. has 4.5 sacks and AJ Terrell has 3 interceptions.

The Saints are 37-14 ATS in their last 51 road games and 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games on grass. The Falcons are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games and 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The under is 6-0 in Saints last 6 games overall. The under is 7-1 in Falcons last 8 games overall. The Saints are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings in Atlanta and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 meetings.

I’m not thrilled to lay chalk with the New Orleans Saints on the road, but they enter this game with a chance to make the playoffs, and that has to count for something. The Atlanta Falcons have been more competitive as of late, but they’re still awful on both sides of the ball, and they’ve actually played worse at home than on the road. With the motivation on the Saints side, they should be able to get the job done while covering the reasonable number. The Saints have also been covering machines on the road over the years. Give me the Saints.