The New Orleans and the Caesars Superdome will play host to the rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon in the teams’ first meeting of the 2025 season. Ahead of the matchup this weekend, New Orleans is tabbed as a slight favorite over the NFC South foe due in large part to injuries on the offensive side of the football for Atlanta.
Falcons’ starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and star wide receiver Drake London will both be out versus the Saints as a lack of health continues to derail the “dirty birds’” season. Penix suffered a partially torn ACL in Atlanta’s previous game, a three-point loss to the Carolina Panthers. Although backup Kirk Cousins is a viable replacement at QB, filling the shoes left in the void by London’s absence will be a little tougher.
The wideout is on pace to finish as a top-ten player at his position this year. He currently ranks fifth with 810 receiving yards while being tied for seventh-most receptions with 60. London had also found the endzone six times to this point in the season.
Rather than aggression through the passing game, I would expect head coach Raheem Morris and the Falcons to lean heavily into the workloads of their running back tandem in Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. Robinson has the seventh-most rushing yards in the league, while Allgeier is tied for seventh in rushing TDs.
New Orleans’ defense is coming off a massive moral victory in which they held the Panthers to just seven points, a season low for Brandon Staley’s group. They will need a repeat performance against the 16th-ranked offense in the NFL to give them an opportunity to win this one.
With a nearly fully healthy squad, the Saints should be prepped to defend their top-15 ranking in yards allowed per game. Forcing the Falcons into long down and distance situations will be vital to staking a victory. Focusing on the run game will cause Atlanta to become one-dimensional, only benefiting New Orleans more.
Last time the Saints faced off against Kirk Cousins behind center, they sacked him three times and picked him off. New Orleans will need to get after the veteran QB to allow Who Dat fans to exit the dome happy and earn the team’s third win this season in the process.
See More:
* [New Orleans Saints analysis](/new-orleans-saints-analysis)
* [New Orleans Saints Roster](/new-orleans-saints-roster)