Jacob Jardel
Voices Editor
@JJardel_Writing
Two National Football Conference rivals will square off under the Monday Night Football lights when the Atlanta Falcons visit the New Orleans Saints at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 in the Mercedez-Benz Superdome.
Atlanta (1-1) is coming off a 35-28 road victory against the Oakland Raiders. Quarterback Matt Ryan hopes to emulate his performace in the Bay, where he went 26 for 34 in the air with three touchdowns on nearly 400 yards.
The ground game contributed to the victory with a combined 139 yards on 29 attempts split between Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Coleman added the team’s lone rushing touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Saints (0-2) hope to bounce back from a loss to the New York Giants. Despite outscoring the boys in blue in the fourth quarter, New Orleans fell short of completing the comeback, losing 13-10.
All-pro quarterback Drew Brees threw for 263 yards and a touchdown on 29-of-44 passing, but the running crew failed to produce more support in their efforts toward victory.
While both teams provide defenses with great potential, the offenses will provide enough fireworks to render that aspect of the game relatively moot. Further, both teams possess Pro Bowl-caliber quarterbacks who can set a secondary ablaze with enough protection from the offensive line.
Thus, the running games will be the biggest key to victory for the teams. While both have explosive backs, expect the Falcons to outplay the Saints on the ground.
Prediction: Falcons 38, Saints 28.