Hate Week opens with the Falcons as underdogs in New Orleans

The NFC South title is a White Elephant gift that Tampa Bay doesn’t seem to want. Each time the Bucs are positioned to solidify their lead in the division they fail to make progress, meaning that the Atlanta Falcons are still somehow very alive in the NFC South. That makes this week’s tilt against the Saints all the more important.

Now normally, a matchup between a 5-8 and 4-9 team would not make for appointment viewing, but with the Bucs losing to 49ers on Sunday, The Falcons have a realistic path to the playoffs. That will start with taking care of New Orleans on the road, where DraftKings Sportsbook has the Falcons as four-point underdogs in the opening odds. The over/under currently sits at 43.5 points.

The Falcons dropped their home opener against the Saints in embarrassing fashion, and would obviously like to atone for that abysmal outcome against their hated rival. Adding to the intrigue is the first career start of rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, who was formally announced as Atlanta’s starting quarterback during head coach Arthur Smith’s Monday presser.

The Saints have lost four of their last six contests and will again be rolling out Andy Dalton under center. The season’s starting QB, Jameis Winston, has not started since Week 3.