The Falcoholic
Do your Sunday plans involve watching two terrible football teams force one or the other to win? If so, the Falcons head to New Orleans for Hate Week Part I, a game where the Saints enter with a hair’s advantage of 1.5 points, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Both of these NFC South rivals’ seasons have spiraled out of control, and at 3-7 and 2-8, respectively, it’s essentially a race to the bottom when they meet on Sunday afternoon in the Superdome.
Last week’s loss drove the final nail in Atlanta’s postseason hopes, and with injuries to wide receiver Drake London, Billy Bowman, and Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons’ circling of the drain is now a full rush toward yet another losing season.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins will get the nod under center, but with a ramshackle wide receiving corps, he will not have much in the way of weapons at his disposal. He completed 6 of 14 passes for 48 yards in Atlanta’s overtime loss to Carolina in Week 11.
The Saints are similarly injured and awful. They’ll trot out rookie backup Tyler Shough at quarterback, who earned his first win in Week 10 over the Panthers. They’re currently in the NFC South basement by one game, but have the added hope of a potential top-five pick should things continue to go as poorly as they have through 10 games.
Atlanta doesn’t have that hope on the horizon, as it traded away its first-round pick next year to hop back into the 2025 NFL Draft to grab pass rusher James Pearce Jr.
Hope is in short supply for these Atlanta Falcons, and they’ll be underdogs on the road against their hated rival.
