NEW ORLEANS — Welcome to the most hilariously important Saints-Falcons regular season game ever. There’s an argument to be made Sunday’s game will decide the immediate future of both teams for the next 2-3 years. Playoffs, coaches' jobs, who the quarterbacks are, and more probably hinge on the outcome of Sunday.
The 5-5 New Orleans Saints and 4-6 Atlanta Falcons shouldn’t be playing a game of such massive importance, but here we are. I love it so much.
Let’s get this out of the way right off, I refuse to acknowledge the Saints beating the Falcons is anything but a wonderful amazing, enjoyable, good thing. The future is uncertain, and a Saints loss guarantees me nothing but pain as Falcons fans will point and laugh at us. I want to beat the Falcons. Always and forever.
The fact there are a lot of Saints fans on social media wanting the Saints to lose to Atlanta annoys me to no end and their reasoning is galaxy-brain stupid, “If the Falcons lose they’ll fire Arthur Smith, draft Jayden Daniels of LSU, hire a great young coach, and dominate the NFC South for 1000 years.”
Stop being so afraid of the organization that blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl and said this offseason, “Yeah we have no interest in trading for Lamar Jackson. We have Desmond Ridder.” If the Saints beat the Falcons on Sunday, we’ll laugh at the Falcons fans’ despair, and sort out all the Saints’ issues later.
Make no mistake though, this game will define Dennis Allen and Arthur Smith’s tenures as head coaches. As crazy as it sounds, Arthur Smith needs it WAY more than Dennis Allen and Allen needs this game like a French Quarter tourist needs a Hurricane and beignets.
A Falcons loss would be a fourth straight Atlanta loss and they’d be 2 games behind the Saints in the NFC South with 6 games left. Anything is still possible but simple math will be crushing the Falcons like a 1000-pound anvil.
Maybe you think Sunday doesn’t really matter because the Saints aren’t a ‘real Super Bowl’ contender, whatever the hell that means, but not me friends. I love a huge post-Thanksgiving Day Saints game with huge playoff implications. Throw in it’s against the team we hate the most and they have even more at stake than the Saints? This is why I’m here. It’s everything I love about Saints football.
We can’t know the future, and while too many of you seem to think a future where the Saints lose more in 2023 means a brighter future without Dennis Allen, there’s also a possibility the Saints' future is worse than it is now with or without Dennis Allen. In 5 years or 2 years, we might look back at the Saints being 5-5 and in first place as the good old days. There’s no telling.
I want my Saints to give me joy and happiness. I want to live in the moment, and nothing delivers me more joy than beating the Atlanta Falcons.
BEAT. THE. FALCONS.
Saints Fans Mood and Meditation: Heroes – David Bowie
We built Steve Gleason a statue for many reasons. He’s an inspiration, an incredible father and husband, but we also built him a statue cause he did an amazing football thing against the Falcons when we needed it and dreamed of it.
Saints legends get made in this game. Taysom Hill and Cam Jordan are beloved by Saints fans in part because they are known as Falcons Killers. I don’t know who might grab Saints immortality, but a guy like Lynn Bowden could do something special Sunday and we’ll say his name in 10 years and smile cause of that day he had against Atlanta. Be heroes Saints.
The Games
Last Week: 2-3
Season: 23-22
New Orleans (+1) at Atlanta: I have no idea how this game will go. The Falcons are going to throw EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING at the Saints. The Falcons' season is at stake.
I worry about Arthur Smith cooking up a great script to start the game and the Saints being knocked out early, I worry about Derek Carr’s shoulder and the fact he’s coming off a concussion. Both teams have had two weeks to pour everything into this game and I just don’t trust Dennis Allen and this coaching staff to have a great plan.
Here's the thing though: I could give you X’s and O’s and tell you how if the Saints can get the running game going they had early in Minnesota or the pass rush they had in the second half, they could turn the Atlanta crowd against the Falcons but that’s not where I’m going. No, my mind keeps asking me, “Ralph, what’s the absolute funniest outcome to this Saints-Falcons game?”
The series is tied 54-54. Miraculously the Saints have clawed even.
The most hilarious outcome is the result which drives both fanbases even more insane. Both fanbases kind of hate their coach, aren’t in love with their quarterbacks, and mostly just want a clear path forward. Should we stick with this coach or go in another direction? Even a loss delivers clarity, as frustrating as that clarity might be.
So, what’s the funniest outcome? A tie. No clarity, no finality, no resolution to anything! Think of it as the football gods winking at us as we pull our hair out and shake our heads in disbelief.
20-20. All-Time Series 54-54-1
Indianapolis (-2) vs Tampa Bay: The Bucs are still hanging around the NFC South race and there’s a world where 3 teams are 5-6 at around 3:30 pm Sunday. That’d be fantastic, but I don’t trust Bake Mayfield on the road.
Colts 23-16
Tennessee (-3.5) vs Carolina: The Panthers are the poster child for, “It can always get worse” coaching change examples. Carolina was up 21-7 last year in Tampa and had the NFC South in their hands. They fell apart, fired Steve Wilks, hired Frank Reich, traded up for a young quarterback, and now they are the worst team in football. Change ain’t always good.
Titans 17-13
Denver (-1.5) vs Cleveland: Sean Payton's greatness as a coach is the fact he really doesn’t care how a game needs to be won. Drew Brees needs to score 45. Cool. Does the game need to be a mud-wrestling, unappealing, ugly fight? Even better.
Sean Payton has shaped the Broncos into a giant pain in the #$% to play. I say that as the highest compliment.
Broncos 16-10
New York Giants (+3.5) vs New England: How are the 2-8 Patriots favored over anyone? On the road? What is this madness? I don’t care if the Giants are quarterbacked by Tommy ‘Get Your Shine Box On’ Devito.
Giants 19-14
Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer and Saints fan living in Houston. Email him at saintshappyhour@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @SaintsForecast or download the Saints Happy Hour Podcast.
