Moving on from a chilly loss in Buffalo, the Falcons look ahead to take on top rival New Orleans Saints in a late afternoon home game. When these teams met earlier this season in Week 9, the Falcons walked out of the Caesars Superdome with a W (27-25) and an all-time series lead of 54-51 thanks to a walk-off field goal by Younghoe Koo.
The Saints approach this matchup with an 8-8 season record and a win last weekend against the Panthers. New Orleans currently sits at the threshold of making the playoffs, with a win in ATL and a 49ers loss versus the L.A. Rams securing their spot.
The Falcons have won their last three home matchups against the Saints. While Atlanta's playoff hopes have been dashed after their loss in Buffalo, they now have the opportunity to keep the Saints from making the postseason.
Atlanta is entering the match-up with a freshly shuffled depth chart. On Tuesday, the club activated six players from the COVID list, including Hayden Hurst, Tajae Sharpe and Jaylinn Hawkins. These activations will hopefully provide a needed boost to ATL's roster.
Kyle Pitts and Matt Ryan have some potential milestones to play for on Sunday. If, of course, Pitts is able to play despite a recent hamstring injury. If Pitts is active and achieves 59 receiving yards he will surpass Mike Ditka's record for most receiving yards by a rookie TE. Meanwhile, Matt Ryan is one passing touchdown away from surpassing Eli Manning (366) for ninth most passing touchdowns in NFL history.
A win over a rival, however, is the main goal for ever Falcon involved.
"You need division rivalries... You want people to be excited," Arthur Smith said in his Wednesday press conference. "Hopefully we've got a good crowd on Sunday so we can end this season right."
With all of that in mind, here's the details on how to tune into Sunday's game.
HOW TO WATCH
What: Atlanta Falcons (7-9) vs. New Orlean Saints (8-8)
When: Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
TV: FOX, NFL Network
Announcers: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin
Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app.
Streaming outside the market: Watch live out-of-market preseason games and replay every game of the season with NFL Game Pass.
Radio: 92.9-FM The Game; La Mejor [español]; Those with SiriusXM Radio can find games here.
Weather forecast
Skies: Rain
High/low: 60 degrees/40 degrees
Rain: 93 percent chance
Humidity: 82 percent
Moon: First Quarter*
*We leave no stone unturned here at AtlantaFalcons.com
