Falcons vs. Saints odds: Atlanta’s a field goal favorite against the team that barely beat the Browns

The Saints and Falcons have not had their ideal starts to the season. Both teams are 1-1, but the Falcons have suffered massive attrition and an ugly loss, albeit one to the team that won the Super Bowl last year. The Saints are dealing with some injuries, too, but more than that they’re just not playing the caliber of football many, including myself, expected of them in the early going.

These two teams meet this week, and with history as our guide, I think it’s fair to expect it to be a close, nerve-wracking contest. The oddsmakers apparently agree, as they’ve largely declared this a field goal game in the run-up to Week 3.

The Saints are not favored, and it’s not hard to understand why. The Falcons are also 1-1, but they have one quality win and one brutal loss against one of the best teams in the NFL. The Saints have a loss to the Buccaneers and a near-loss to the Browns, and their defense has looked sieve-like again after a stout 2017. It may just be a fluky slow start, or it might be delicious regression, but either way you can’t blame anyone for thinking Atlanta should be a slight favorite at home.

That said, do I have a song of confidence trilling in my heart? No. This is a Saints game, and as such, any and all outcomes are on the table. We’ll just hope the Falcons can keep some momentum going, that the Saints will remain sluggish, and the Falcons will drop them down into the division’s basement where they belong in Week 3.