Finally it is here! No we are not referring to football being back after a long two day break (come on now), and no we are not even referring to the playoff implications of this game. And although they may be the best of the bunch, we are also not referring to the Falcon’s color rush jerseys.
We are referring to the one night of year that Chick-fil-A will actually be open in Mercedes-Benz Stadium during an Atlanta Falcons football game. In case you forgot, Chick-fil-A is not open on Sundays, so when the Atlanta Falcons decided to add the famous fast food chain, which originated in Atlanta, to their stadium menu, it was all in preparation for tonight! Hopefully, the delicious chicken will keep the Atlanta fans appeased tonight because we are taking the Saints (+2) to cover the spread and hand the Falcons their fourth home loss of the season. It used to be a sin to bet against the Falcons at home, but recently the Falcons have left the nest unprotected. Since their bye week, the Falcons have only covered the spread a total three of eight times, and only two of four times at home. While the saints have covered a total five of eight times in that same time span, and two of three times away.
Our only concern is the line has moved majorly in favor of the Falcons since it originally opened, which indicates big money (“smart” money) is being bet on the Falcons. Although it is dangerous to bet against smart money, since the opening line, both Mark Ingram and Marshon Lattimore have been announced as expected plays for the Saints (quick note: it took me five attempts to get the correct spelling of “Marshon”, yet only one attempt for "Lattimore"). The Saints have been on a role since their bye in week five, only losing to the duel quarterbacked Rams. We say “duel quarterbacked” because the Rams play with two quarterbacks: Jared Goff and Sean McVay. If you have not heard, McVay intructs Goff to run up to the line as quickly as possible so that McVay can help Goff get in some pre-snap reads before the mic cuts out. No seriously, look it up. Anyway, we think we can give the Saints a pass for losing to a team with two QBs.
The Falcons are coming off a tough fought loss against the Vikings, and have had little time to recover. We just don’t see the Falcons pulling off the W this week, and with a spread so close to even, we have to bet on the Saints. If it is any consolation to the Falcons, we do think they will be competitive in this game, and because of that, we are taking the over. Both teams have explosive offenses, so more likely than not this game will be a high scoring affair. The over is set at 52, which the Saints have busted multiple times this year. In those games, they played the Patriots, Lions, Bills, Redskins, and Panthers. All of those teams, besides the Bills, have rather explosive offensive capabilities, and the Falcons, of course, are just the same.
VERDICT: Bet the Saints +2 and Over 52 with the same confidence Lavar has in his sons: possibly misplaced.