Atlanta and New Orleans run it back on Monday Night Football, a rematch of the game the Falcons stole by 2 points to close last season.
Share
Show fees
TUE OCT 6 · 7:15 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
Falcons
Saints
Both locker rooms are still sorting out QB1. Michael Penix Jr. hasn't been cleared for full 11-on-11 work and missed Atlanta's preseason opener, leaving Cooper Rush and newly added Tua Tagovailoa to split reps behind center — Tagovailoa completed just 3 of 5 passes in a 27-7 loss to Denver. New Orleans has its own competition, with Spencer Rattler going 8-for-11 for 42 yards in a preseason loss to Jacksonville while Tyler Shough waited his turn. Whoever wins each job will have weeks of game reps to claim it before kickoff at 7:15 PM CT.
James Pearce Jr.'s 8-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy is the bigger loss up front for Atlanta, thinning a pass rush that already has DeAngelo Malone on the reserve/PUP list. New Orleans is nursing its own camp bumps — Cameron Jordan's hamstring could linger into the season and Bryan Bresee already landed on injured reserve — while Alvin Kamara and Travis Etienne Jr. share top billing in the backfield on an unofficial depth chart. Neither roster is fully formed yet, and the early markets reflect that uncertainty as much as anything on tape.
Both teams have plenty of runway before this one. Atlanta plays preseason trips to Indianapolis and Miami before regular-season dates with Pittsburgh, Carolina and Green Bay, while New Orleans faces the Rams, Cowboys, Lions and Ravens first. A lot can change in the weeks between now and kickoff, but the shape of last year's finale — a 2-point Falcons escape in Atlanta — is exactly why this rematch on Monday Night Football carries a little extra juice.
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta closed last season on a 4-game run, shaking off a blowout loss to Seattle before capping it with that tight win over New Orleans. The Saints, for their part, ran off 4 wins in 5 games of their own before that finale got away from them — a group that's shown it can score in bunches when its skill players are right. Both clubs are betting the identity that got them there in January carries over once the pads come back on.
Atlanta Falcons
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
New Orleans Saints
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Whichever quarterback rooms sort themselves out first, this NFC South matchup on Monday, October 5 has the makings of a measuring-stick game for two teams that finished last season believing they belonged in the mix.
