The New Orleans Saints will see their bitter rivals enter the Superdom for a primetime matchup on Monday night as they face off against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have been down on their luck, but they are certainly not lacking talent. Their offense still features some of the best young players in the league, including Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. However, they just can’t seem to find consistency at the quarterback position.
Throughout the offseason, there was a quarterback
battle between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa. Tua actually won the job while Penix continued to recover from an injury. However, before the first game of the season, Tua suffered an injury of his own. The Falcons then turned to Cooper Rush, who started in Week 1 and 2. With the offense struggling to perform, they turned to their fourth quarterback, Jack Strand, who came in and immediately threw a pick-six against the Panthers.
Finally, last week, the Falcons were able to get Penix back, and the offense showed some life. Penix’s first drive of the season also ended with an interception, but after that, the Falcons were able to surprise a lot of people by defeating the Packers on the road, 35-14.
Penix was Atlanta’s starting quarterback last year but struggled to find a rhythm. This could be the year he takes a step forward. In his lone start of the season, Penix completed 18 of 25 passes (72%) for 256 yards, averaging 10.2 yards per attempt, with one touchdown and one interception.
The good news for the Falcons is that they did not allow a single sack against the Packers last week, and that is something the Saints will need to change.
The focus for the Saints’ defense shouldn’t necessarily be to stop Penix. If anything, it should be to force Penix to be the one who has to beat them.
Bijan Robinson went off against the Packers, rushing for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while Drake London complemented the running game with nine receptions for 194 yards. He also had a long reception of 68 yards. Most of Penix’s passing production came from one receiver, while Robinson accounted for much of the offense’s remaining production.
The Saints will need to generate pressure up the middle. With Penix being a left-handed quarterback, the normal pass-rushing dynamics are flipped a little. His blind side is to his right, so the Saints need to prevent him from stepping up into his throws, especially considering that he isn’t much of a threat to run. Flush him out of the pocket and force him to change his throwing spots.
They will also need to take away his first read, which is usually Drake London. Force the Falcons into third-and-long situations by getting to Robinson on early downs and keeping the offense off schedule.
Last year, the Saints had success against Atlanta and Bijan Robinson’s rushing attack. In two games against the Saints, Brandon Staley’s defense held Robinson to a combined 103 rushing yards and zero touchdowns. So, it’s possible.
Tyler Shough and the Saints’ Offense:
Tyler Shough leads the Saints nto this matchup, and had the fourth quarter against the Raiders not been played, Shough would have been coming off the best game of his young career. But football is a four-quarter sport.
Through the first three games, Shough has 912 passing yards and is completing 68.9% of his passes. He also has eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
The most notable thing about Shough’s stat line is that the games in which he has committed a turnover are the games the Saints have lost.
Start by protecting the football.
The Saints also have to help him in that regard because the pass protection has been very poor. Through the first three games, Shough has been sacked 10 times. That’s not good for the offense, and it’s certainly not good to allow your starting quarterback to continue taking hits like that.
The Saints will need to establish a running game around Shough on Monday night, and that challenge just got harder. Travis Etienne Jr. will miss some time after suffering a hamstring injury against the Raiders which means Kendre Miller and Alvin Kamara will become the focal points of the rushing attack.
The Saints also did a great job utilizing their tight ends on Sunday, creating mismatches by incorporating more 12 personnel. Noah Fant and Juwan Johnson both played very well because of it.
And, obviously, get the ball to Chris Olave.
Olave is making a case to be the best receiver in the league right now, and the Saints need to continue featuring him in the offense. Find that Guardian Cap early and often on Monday night.
Finally, encourage Shough to run.
He has good mobility and can make a defense pay when its pass rushers become undisciplined. Encourage him to use his legs and make the defense think twice about sending blitzes. He can get rid of the ball quickly and extend plays with his feet.
The Falcons have been able to generate pressure with just four rushers, so it will be important for Shough to make them pay whenever they decide to send more than that.
The Matchup:
When it comes to this matchup, the Saints have the advantage in talent at the quarterback position, while the Falcons have the advantage in the talent surrounding their quarterback.
This is an important game because it’s a divisional matchup, and the Saints are coming off a loss. They can’t afford to lose games within the division if they want to have a chance at the postseason.
The NFC South isn’t a particularly strong division, so the Saints need to come out and win. To do that, they must make sure they showcase that they have the better quarterback on the field Monday night.
Who do you think has the advantage heading into this matchup, and how do you think this game will turn out?
