Three-peat atop New Orleans’ list
ATLANTA — The New Orleans Saints can settle a score when they visit the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.
The Saints (9-2) also can clinch their third straight NFC South title by beating the Falcons. That’s the more important motivation.
“Everybody in this locker room has that on their mind,” said Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins of the three-peat goal.
The Falcons shocked the Saints 26-9 on Nov. 10 in New Orleans. It was the Saints’ only loss in their last nine games.
“We didn’t play good football last time,” Saints linebacker Demario Davis said. “We didn’t stop the run well. We didn’t get off the field on third down. We didn’t create turnovers, weren’t good in the red zone. We’ve got to get better all the way around, for sure.”
The Falcons know they can’t expect the same results, especially when facing an offense led by Drew Brees.
“You know Drew. He’s the type player, if you got him with a disguise the first time, if you beat him with a certain coverage the first time, you can’t just try to bring that out there and do it again, because he’s a guy who is always studying,” Falcons safety Ricardo Allen said. “… He’s not going to be fooled too many times.”
The impressive showing at New Orleans was the first of two straight wins in which Atlanta did not allow a touchdown, raising hopes for a second-half turnaround. Instead, the Falcons (3-8) returned to their losing form in Sunday’s 3522 home loss to Tampa Bay, regaining sole claim to last place in the division.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank’s task of evaluating coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff has been complicated by the team’s inconsistent play.
The two straight wins followed Quinn shaking up his coaching staff in a bye week. Most notably, Raheem Morris moved from wide receivers coach to the secondary. Morris and linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich are calling the plays on defense, a duty Quinn held as the self-appointed defensive coordinator to start the season.
The rematch with the Saints may help Blank and Falcons fans conclude if meaningful fixes have been found to problems that led to a 1-7 start.
Falcons running back Devonta Freeman is set to return after missing two games with a sprained foot. Wide receiver Julio Jones missed practice time with a shoulder injury this week and will be a game-time decision.
Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore could return from a hamstring injury.