Vegas knows what the fans of this rivalry preach: it's always a stressful, close affair when New Orleans and Atlanta meet. New Orleans opened as a mere half-point favorite, and that line has move to a single (-1). The Saints have been favorites in every game except their season opener at Green Bay, while the Falcons were dogs as recently as their win at Detroit three weeks ago.
New Orleans has been favored in four of the last five meetings, the exception coming in the teams' last meeting in Atlanta on December 27 of last season, a 17-14 Saints win over the Falcons (-3). But this line has been notoriously deceptive as Atlanta has slowly come of age behind Matt Ryan - the favorite hasn't covered since a four point win by New Orleans in December of 2008.
Sunday marks the beginning of a three game homestand that, if Atlanta can beat the Saints and pull even for first place in the NFC South, create a chance for the Falcons to pull away against sub-.500 Tennessee and Minnesota before these teams' next meeting on December 26. The Saints are 1-4 against the spread on the road this season, the Falcons 2-1 at home.
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