The New Orleans Saints are honoring the 20th anniversary of their iconic Domecoming game with another Monday Night Football matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Domecoming game is the one of most emotional and significant moments in Saints history, and Monday is simply a game New Orleans needs to win. On top of being an NFC South matchup, the Domecoming reunion could either kick-start a big run for the Saints, or be the game we point to when it all goes wrong. The Saints need to take advantage
of these pivotal matchups to come away with a win on Monday.
Saints run defense vs. RB Bijan Robinson
The strength of the Falcons is clearly superstar running back Bijan Robinson. The fourth-year running back has been unstoppable since entering the league and is at the peak of his prime. While Robinson is one of the premier players in the NFL, the Falcons’ offense is significantly lacking.
Part of the Falcons ‘ shortcomings is their lack of talent at quarterback. Despite Michael Penix Jr. having a solid day in the upset win over the Green Bay Packers, the way to stop Atlanta is slowing down Robinson.
The Falcons have the second-best rushing offense in the league and a favorable matchup against the Saints’ run defense, which is ranked the sixth-worst in the NFL. Slowing down Robinson will be difficult, but will prove to be worthwhile, forcing Atlanta’s bottom-five passing offense to beat them in the air.
Saints RBs vs. Falcons run defense
Running back Travis Etienne Jr. finally started to look promising after a slow start to the season, but left during the team’s Week 3 loss with a hamstring injury. After further testing, it was determined Etienne’s injury was significant enough, and he was placed on injured reserve. With Etienne out, the offense looks towards veterans Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller.
The Saints’ run offense has been awful this season. Tyler Shough has been forced to throw 132 passes through three games, and it has not been sustainable. On top of his 132 pass attempts, the lack of a run game has allowed teams to blitz Shough at a high rate.
Part of the Saints’ failures to run the ball has been the poor play design. New Orleans’ run game isn’t creative and doesn’t utilize their backs’ strengths. Kellen Moore clearly knows what it’s like to run a successful rushing offense, but it has not followed him to New Orleans.
But getting the run game going on Monday will be the Saints’ offense’s strongest matchup yet. Surprisingly, the Falcons have the best run defense in the NFL, allowing just 47.7 rushing yards per game.
QB Tyler Shough vs. Falcons secondary
Tyler Shough had a career game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and it would look a lot better if you just turned a blind eye to what happened in the fourth quarter. Obviously, however, the fourth-quarter meltdown can’t be ignored. But Shough may be in for another career day against Atlanta.
While they house the best run defense in the NFL, the Falcons also have the fourth-worst passing defense and are now without their star cornerback, A.J. Terrell Jr. With Chris Olave’s big season continuing and Shough coming off a big day, New Orleans could take advantage of a favorable matchup.
