By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints will wrap up their 2025-26 campaign with one final matchup with the division opponent Atlanta Falcons. The two teams are one of the NFL’s most heated rivals, so a win on either side would propel the victor into the offseason with some impressive momentum. The game will kickoff at 12:00 p.m. CT from Atlanta, Ga. on Sunday.
Here are five things you need to know about the inconsistent, but surging, Falcons ahead of the second matchup between the two NFC South clubs.
1. The Falcons have won three consecutive games.
After starting the season 3-2, Atlanta dropped five straight games and went 1-7 over an eight-game stretch. But since then, the team has won three consecutive matchups. That includes single-score victories over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, most recently, the Los Angeles Rams. Even though the Falcons have had a rollercoaster of a season, they are currently on an upswing and will look to continue that against the Saints to close out the year.
2. Running back Bijan Robison is coming off of a record-breaking performance.
The Falcons’ playmaker just put together a career-best performance against the Los Angeles Rams, one that set a new franchise record for most yards from scrimmage in a season. He is now 255 total yards shy of capturing the NFL record for most scrimmage yards which former Tennessee Titans running back Curtis Johnson holds from 2009 with 2,509 such yards. While that’s a tall task against a strong Saints defense, it doesn’t take much for the explosive back to start piling in yardage and catching fire.
3. Atlanta’s safety duo has been impressive.
The safety tandem of veteran Jessie Bates III and rookie Xavier Watts have been stellar this season. The two have combined for eight interceptions on the year and Watts is coming off of an impressive two-pick performance against the Rams. The Saints have found a lot of success downfield late in the year, keeping that up may be a challenge against the Falcons’ back end.
4. The Falcons have fared much better in primetime than in afternoon games.
Atlanta has picked up some impressive victories this year in primetime games with wins over the Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills. However, their Noon CT kickoffs include losses to the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and two losses to the Carolina Panthers. Atlanta is 4-1 in primetime but only 1-7 in the early afternoon slot of Sunday games.
5. Atlanta could push the Saints to last place or assist in a second-place finish in the division.
A Saints win in Atlanta after a Panthers win over the Bucs on Saturday would propel New Orleans to an astonishing second-place finish in the NFC South. But a loss to Atlanta would sink them back to the basement of the division at fourth place. A fourth-place finish wouldn’t be the worst for New Orleans. It would shape them up with a favorable schedule in 2026 against fourth place opponents in the NFC East, NFC West and AFC West.
Despite that, New Orleans will absolutely be playing for a win against their arch nemesis NFC South counterparts. The momentum and boost to a growing winning culture in the Big Easy.
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