New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons (9/11/22): Betting Odds, Predictions, Depth Charts

The New Orleans Saints travel to face the Atlanta Falcons for opening week of the NFL season. The Saints are a comfortable road favorite so far at 5.5 points, in what is always an intense rivalry. Both teams look different than how they were last year, so let’s take a look at the odds, injuries, depth charts, and also make some predictions!

New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons Betting Odds

New Orleans comes into this game as a 5.5-point favorite on the road. They also sit at -225 on the moneyline. The over/under sits at 42.5. These numbers say a few things, like that oddsmakers like, if not, love New Orleans this year, and are not super high on the Falcons. I think the total also jumps out because New Orleans should have one of the best defenses in the NFL this year so having a lower total makes sense from that perspective too.

New Orleans Vs. Atlanta Falcons Prediction

While I don’t love how big the spread is on the road, I still think New Orleans covers. The Saints are good enough this year to win the NFC South and their defense alone could carry them to that title. Atlanta is in a bit of a rebuilding mode this year, after moving away from veteran quarterback, Matt Ryan, and instead now have Marcus Mariota starting there. The Falcons might be the worst team in the NFC South because of that fact. The Falcons do have playmakers though, and specifically Kyle Pitts at tight end and Cordarrelle Patterson at running back. I think the road factor is the only thing that might keep this game from getting out of hand. Take the Saints to cover, the better team should prevail here, and probably pretty easily.

Prediction: New Orleans Covers -5.5

Betting Trends

Saints are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Falcons are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
Under is 6-1 in Saints last 7 games overall.
Under is 7-2 in Falcons last 9 games overall.

Key Injuries

New Orleans Saints Injuries: WR Tre’Quan Smith (Shoulder) Q, RB Dwayne Washington (Hamstring) Q, WR Michael Thomas (Hamstring) Q
Atlanta Falcons Injuries: WR Drake London (Knee) Q, ILB Deion Jones (Shoulder), CB Darren Hall (Quadricep) Q

Key Matchups

Check out the key matchups and mismatches for the New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons below.

The Saints Defensive Front vs the Falcons Offensive Line

The Saints might have one of the best defenses in the entire NFL this year, and the anchor of that dominant defense is going to be the defensive line. The best player on the line is easily Cam Jordan at defensive end, but Marcus Davenport is not far behind, also being a defensive end. The best thing their line has is speed, so I think it’s going to be a struggle for the Atlanta offensive line the entire game. The best player on Atlanta’s offensive line is Jake Matthews, and after him the line is full of question marks.

Marcus Mariota vs Saints Secondary

Marcus Mariota gets another chance as a starting quarterback for the Falcons, but the downside is that he gets the New Orleans secondary, which should be great this year. The Saints secondary is going to be lead by Tyrann Mathieu at strong safety and then also Marshon Lattimore holding down the fort on the right side of the field. Those two alone are going to be a problem for any quarterback, let alone Mariota. Mariota hasn’t started for a team since 2019, and this just isn’t a good spot for him to try and get his rhythm back.

New Orleans Saints Depth Chart

QB: Jameis Winston
RB1: Alvin Kamara
RB2: Mark Ingram II
RB3: Dwayne Washington
LWR: Michael Thomas
RWR: Chris Olave
SWR: Jarvis Landry
TE1: Adam Trautman

Atlanta Falcons Depth Chart

QB: Marcus Mariota
RB1: Cordarelle Patterson
RB2: Damien Williams
RB3: Tyler Allgeier
LWR: Bryan Edwards
RWR: Drake London
SWR: Olamide Zaccheus
TE1: Kyle Pitts