Today’s the day. The Falcons are in New Orleans for the first time under Arthur Smith, who can endear himself to the fanbase eternally—okay, for a few weeks—by triumphing over Sean Payton and company in Louisiana. I don’t want to talk about a loss to the Saints because frankly we’ve done enough of that in recent years.

The key today will be Atlanta’s run defense clamping down and a shaky defense overall coming up big against a backup quarterback. Of course, they can be borderline elite against New Orleans and still not win if the offense stalls and sputters the way it did against Carolina, so we’re hopeful that Matt Ryan, Kyle Pitts, Cordarrelle Patterson, Russell Gage and company can put together a much crisper effort. A win puts the Falcons back at .500, pulls the Saints down to 5-3 and back within striking distance, and gives them something to build off of heading into what promises to be one of the year’s toughest matchups against the Dallas Cowboys. All in all, I’d prefer the win, I gotta say.

Go Falcons!

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints, Week 9

When: Sunday, November 7, at 1:00 p.m. EST

Where: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Channel: FOX

Announcers: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Sara Walsh

Streaming: Falcons app for local audiences; NFL Sunday Ticket nationally

Radio: 92.9 The Game

Key Questions: Can the Falcons prevent the Saints from running Carolina’s run-first gameplan effectively against them? Will Atlanta’s passing game get back on track after a putrid week against the Panthers? Can we please just not do the Taysom Hill thing again?

Odds: A close game? Sounds right. Check out the latest odds from our partners, DraftKings Sportsbook.

2021 Falcons regular season schedule (3-4)

Week 1, Loss: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 2: Loss @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 3: Win @ New York Giants

Week 4: Loss vs. Washington Football Team

Week 5: Win vs. New York Jets,

Week 6: BYE WEEK

Week 7: Win @Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m., Sunday, October 24

Week 8: Loss vs. Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., Sunday, October 31

Week 9: @ New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m., Sunday, November 7

Week 10: @ Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m., Sunday, November 14

Week 11: vs. New England Patriots, 8:20 p.m., Thursday, November 18

Week 12: @ Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m., Sunday, November 28

Week 13: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m., Sunday, December 5

Week 14: @ Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., Sunday, December 12

Week 15: @ San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m., Sunday, December 19

Week 16: vs. Detroit Lions, 1 p.m., Sunday, December 26

Week 17: @ Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m., Sunday, January 3

Week 18: vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m., Sunday, January 9

Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation

Odds/lines subject to change. Terms and conditions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.