Saints set sights on rival, revenge
After getting pummeled by the Falcons on Nov. 10, the Saints took their frustrations out on the Buccaneers the following Sunday.
They thrashed the Bucs 34-17 on the road and then squeaked by the Panthers 34-31 on a Wil Lutz field goal as time expired last weekend in New Orleans. With that business settled, they squarely started to point toward the Falcons, whom they meet Thanksgiving night in Atlanta.
Saints tight end Jared Cook told NFL Network that “we owe them.”
Defensive end Cam Jordan, who was held without a sack by the Falcons, gave a terse response when asked about a rematch.
“We’re gunning said Monday.
Coming off of the open week and sporting a 1-7 record, the Falcons rolled up to the Superdome and smacked the Saints around. The Falcons surprisingly dominated the Saints on their way to a 26-9 victory.
It marked the first time that the didn’t score a touchdown at home Sean Payton-Drew Brees era.
The Saints beat the Falcons year on Thanksgiving night Orleans.
“As I recall, it wasn’t too long ago obviously, they got after us a little bit on the pass rush,” Brees said Sunday. “We weren’t very balanced offensively. We didn’t run the ball that many times and we didn’t run as effectively as I know we can.”
The Saints and Falcons have spirited battles. The fact that the Saints are competing for playoff seeding and the Falcons are essentially playing only for pride won’t matter much.
“That’s what is fun about the division games,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “They are teams that are going to go battle for it and go. Offensively, everything starts with Drew and his accuracy.”
The Falcons were able to build a lead in the previous meeting, which helped to make the Saints one-dimensional.
“I think anytime we take the field, regardless of who the opponent is, we want to be balanced,” Brees said. “We want to be for
Thursday,”
Jordan
Saints in the
31-17 last in New efficient. We want to convert third downs, make big plays when we have the opportunity. Score points and win games.”
The Saints offense flows through Brees’ passes to receiver Michael Thomas. He had 13 catches for 152 yards in the last meeting.
“The matchup with them starts with Michael Thomas and goes through the running backs and into the tight ends,” Quinn said. “For a long time that’s been a big part of their offense.”
After having a tough time with the Bucs’ Chris Godwin, the Falcons will attempt to mix their coverages against Thomas.
“They know exactly where to put the ball,” Quinn said of Thomas. “He’s really aggressive when there is a 50-50 ball. He’s at the top of his game for sure.“
Thomas has 104 catches for 1,242 yards and six touchdowns.
Running backs Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara combined for 118 yards rushing on 18 carries against the Panthers. Kamara had a 26-yard touchdown run.
The Saints defense ranks 10th in yards allowed at 321.3 per game, third against rush at 88.3 yards per game and 14th in passing yards allowed at 232.7 per game.
The defense wants to show the 143 yards the Falcons amassed was an aberration.
“The only thing that tilted in our favor was that we had one turnover and takeaway and still lost,” Payton said. “Atlanta did so many things well in that game, and we didn’t or we didn’t do them well enough.”