The Atlanta Falcons have now won five of their last six prime-time games, including two big upsets in a row going back to last season. Atlanta still has two more night games to go in this stretch, starting with Monday night's matchup with the division rival New Orleans Saints.
Here are four key matchups/storylines we will be watching closely in Week 4.
QB Michael Penix Jr. vs. Saints crowd
Afte a shaky start Michael Penix settled in and put on a brilliant game against the Green Bay Packers in his return to the lineup last week. Now Penix has to prove that he can produce positive results on a consistent basis. Now's a good time to do it, as this will be the first time that Penix faces the Saints in his career. Since it's the 20-year anniversary of the "domecoming" game, the crowd at the Caesars
Superdome is sure to be loud.
RB Bijan Robinson vs. LB Kaden Elliss
That being said, Penix's main job is a simple one: hand the ball off to running back Bijan Robinson. Coming off his sensational TNF performance that won him NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Robinson has a juicy matchup against a Saints defense that ranks 27th against the run. His primary opponent will be former Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss, who's wearing the green dot for New Orleans. Ellis began his career with the Saints as a seventh-round pick and returned as a free agent in 2026 following his three-year run in Atlanta.
EDGE Cameron Thomas vs. RT Taliese Fuaga
The Falcons defense has gotten excellent results rushing the passer so far despite missing both Jalon Walker and James Pearce. A big reason for that is the performance of Cameron Thomas, who has a team-high seven quarterback hits through three games. This week Thomas has to get past former first-round draft pick Taliese Fuaga, who only earned a 45.7 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus last season, ranking 67th out of 70 qualifying tackles.
LB Divine Deablo vs. TE Juwann Johnson
Taysom Hill may be no longer in the picture for New Orleans, but tight ends remain a big part of their offense. Heading into Week 4 Juwann Johnson ranks second one the team behind Chris Olave with 173 receiving yards. Johnson is also tied with fellow tight end Noah Fant with a team-best three touchdowns. Atlanta's stud middle linebacker Divine Deablo has to play tight coverage against Johnson, who has an inch and about 21 pounds on him.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons vs. Saints: 4 key matchups to watch on Monday Night Football
