Monday Night Football Betting |
The Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints close-out the final Monday night game of the season at the Superdome in a NFC South clash between two teams still jockeying for position in the postseason. The game is slated to get underway at 8:30 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
The memory of a 26-23 overtime loss to New Orleans in Week 10 remains painfully fresh in Atlanta’s mind as a questionable fourth-down call set-up the winning field-goal. That loss represents the difference between the 9-5 Falcons and the 11-3 Saints as the two teams continue to battle for the division title. Atlanta is 6-7-1 against the spread and the total has stayed ‘under’ in nine of its 14 games.
If the Falcons are to have any chance to win this time around, they will need Matt Ryan to continue playing at a high level. He has thrown for seven touchdowns and no interceptions in victories over Carolina and Jacksonville the past two weeks after falling apart in a 17-10 loss to Houston in Week 11.
New Orleans brings a six-game winning streak into this showdown including a 42-20 romp over Minnesota last Sunday as a seven-point road favorite. It has already clinched a playoff spot but a win on Monday night would clinch the South and keep it in the running for the No.2 seed in the NFC. The Saints are 10-4 ATS and the total has gone an even 7-7 this year.
There is no doubt that Drew Brees is playing at a high level with a league-high 4,780 passing yards while completing 71.5 percent of his throws. He has tossed 37 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions and has a lofty overall passer rating of 109.1. As a team, the Saints are ranked first in the NFL in yards per game and second in scoring with an average of 32.6 points a game.
The Falcons are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games as road underdogs and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games against the NFC. The total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of their last 10 games overall.
The Saints are 6-0 ATS in their last six games as home favorites and 5-0 ATS in their last five games against the conference. The total has stayed ‘under’ in 13 of their last 16 games against the NFC South.
Head-to-head in this series, the underdog is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings and the road team is 4-1 ATS in the last five games. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of the last four games.
These two know each other very well and given the importance of this game for both teams, it should end-up being a knock-down, dragged-out fight to the end, so take the Falcons and the 6.5 points.
The Free NFL Pick: New Orleans 24 Atlanta 23
