Saints soaring, Falcons grounded

ATLANTA — Talk about a role reversal.

When Atlanta hosted New Orleans a year ago, the Falcons were cruising toward a division title and locking up home-field advantage in the playoffs, while the Saints just wanted to get to the end of a disappointing season.

The longtime rivals have traded places for Thursday’s prime-time game.

With coach Sean Payton back on the sideline and Drew Brees as good as ever, New Orleans (8-2) leads the NFC South and hopes to chase down Seattle for the best record in the conference.

The Falcons, on the other hand, are trying to figure out how a team that started the season with Super Bowl aspirations is now in the running for the top pick in next year’s draft. Mired in a four-game losing streak and coming off a humiliating loss to lowly Tampa Bay, Atlanta (28) is all but assured its first losing season since 2007.

The Saints staggered to a 7-9 mark last season while dealing with the bounty scandal and Payton being suspended for the year. But they’ve bounced back to reclaim the top spot in the division, setting the tone with an opening 23-17 victory over the Falcons in September.

“Every win is a confidence builder,” Brees said. Atlanta went the opposite way. After at least playing respectably in the early going, with their first four losses by a total of 19 points, the Falcons have been outscored 135-61 during their current skid. The margin really isn’t that close, either.

“Adversity shows the character of a man,” Falcons running back Steven Jackson said.