Welcome to Hate Week! Time to start hating.
The New Orleans Saints are hanging back at 1-2 with the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, just above the woeful 0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the division is completely up for grabs. The Falcons can get back on solid footing in the NFC South by stomping the Saints and moving to 1-1 in the division, and they can also make the Saints and their fans real sad by doing so. I’d say that’s a glorious purpose.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup ahead.
How these teams stack up
There’s some deceptive rankings here. The Falcons being lousy in terms of points scored and passing yards is heavily predicated on the combined 13 points and 288 passing yards they had in the first two weeks of the season, with Michael Penix Jr. putting up 256 yards through the air in Week 3 and the Falcons managing 35 points against the Packers. Similarly, I don’t think the Saints defense is this bad; they’ve just played the #3, #4, and #7 scoring offenses in the NFL in the first three weeks of the season.
That said, there’s plenty of truth here. Atlanta’s run defense has been excellent and now gets a Saints offense down Travis Etienne Jr., and their ground game has been magnificent. Both teams have struggled with giving the ball away—Cooper Rush and Jack Strand had a lot to do with that for Atlanta, but still—and the Saints really do have a potent passing game with Tyler Shough proving to be far more adept than I would’ve expected. Atlanta and New Orleans have distinctive weaknesses—the Falcons thus far against the pass, the Saints against the run—that increase the chances this will be a shootout.
How the Saints have changed in 2026
The Saints had a fair amount of continuity heading into this year, having decided last year that they had their nucleus. They signed former Bills left guard David Edwards, added Etienne, and signed back Kaden Elliss in free agency. The team also stacked some depth, including Noah Fant at tight end, Zach Wilson as their third quarterback, and several additions at linebacker.
They haven’t gotten much out of their draft class just yet, but rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (who is out two months) is very promising and defensive tackle Christen Miller should be an asset when he’s healthy. Their draft went in heavily on offense, with three receivers (Tyson, Bryce Lance, and Barion Brown), a tight end (Oscar Delp), and a guard (Jeremiah Wright) they’re hoping will be part of the foundation of the next great Saints team, which I hope never exists.
Their two major losses this offseason were franchise legend Demario Davis and underrated cornerback Alontae Taylor, and given their defensive struggles early on, perhaps those were significant losses. Generally, though, the Saints once again bet on their tawlent heading into 2026.
What to know about Week 4
The Falcons forcing Jordan Love into panicky throws and rollouts to nowhere last week basically sunk the Packers offense entirely. They won’t be able to get Tyler Shough to quite that degree—Shough is a bit more assured and the Saints offensive line is not a complete tire fire—but the game will absolutely hinge on their ability to make him miserable in primetime.
The first thing to know is that Shough is a blitz beater, so Atlanta’s going to have to get consistent pressure with four rushers. Shough has been good against all kinds of pressure this year so far, but Atlanta’s defense under Jeff Ulbrich already has a track record of punishing him, with two interceptions, a forced fumble, and nine sacks in two games last year. You’re going to have to live with Shough peppering Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson with targets, especially with the secondary a little shaky right now sans A.J. Terrell, but making him uncomfortable and forcing him into mistakes is the recipe for winning this game.
Why? The Saints run game is an abomination, just a couple of ticks above the woeful Packers we saw last week. Etienne gave this team a legitimate starting running back who was averaging 4.3 yards per carry and had a 60% success rate on the ground, but Kendre Miller (3.4 yards per carry, 46.2% success rate) and an ancient Alvin Kamara (2.8 YPC, 33.3% success rate) aren’t running well. Kelvin Banks Jr. is also out with a significant injury, and he was one of the better run blocking tackles in the NFL last year. Atlanta’s stout run defense should help them to make the Saints one-dimensional, where the absence of Banks will also hurt New Orleans.
Offensively, the Falcons need to attack a flabby Saints run defense early and often. The Saints actually have quite a few capable run defenders in the secondary and Kaden Elliss is always stout, but their defensive line has been atrocious in that regard thus far in 2026. That should translate to plenty of opportunities for Bijan and Brian Robinsons on Monday night, given that they just went off for 242 yards against a Packers run defense that looked stouter than New Orleans’ heading into Week 3.
The skating is less favorable through the air, where the Saints have held three consecutive opponents under 250 yards and where the team has already deflected 11 passes, picked up seven sacks, and possesses a sure-tackling defensive backfield. Atlanta will likely lean heavily on their screen game again and Michael Penix Jr. will try to get the ball out quickly to (who else?) Drake London, who had four grabs for 78 yards and a touchdown in the season finale in 2025.
The Saints return game, like Atlanta’s, has been pretty uninspiring thus far this year, and they’ve been solid but unspectacular in every other aspect of their special teams work. This game will hang on whether these teams can effectively utilize their real strengths or not, with Atlanta’s ability or inability to slow or stop Shough likely being the key factor.
