New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons
Glass Half-Full:
The finale of the day on NBC is an excellent NFC South matchup, with two of the best quarterbacks in the league—a Brees vs. Ryan Battle Royale. Let’s enjoy this because the window to have such a showdown is indeed closing.
The Saints are one of the best squads in the NFL, not just the NFC. At 9-2, they are tied with Seattle for the second-best record in the NFC and are a weekly headache for opposing defensive coordinators. Michael Thomas is incredible to watch. Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray are a rushing enthusiast’s dream. The Falcons have fallen well sort short of the Expectation Nest this season, but that’s not to say there haven’t been times when Dan Quinn’s group looked exactly like who we thought they were. An example would be a few weeks ago, when they defeated the Saints at home, 26-9.
Like the Bears and the Lions, when it comes to divisional matchups such as this, the records aren’t the critical factor. Add in the loud and zany Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the Falcons wearing throwback uniforms and the Saints going Color Rush, and you’re looking at a perfect rubber-match scenario.
Glass Half-Empty:
After the Cris Collinsworth slide-in, this game could get really ugly, really quickly. Although the Falcons did beat the Saints, repeating the task would be the equivalent of getting the kid to eat two vegetables before they’re allowed to have dessert. The home-field advantage does carry some value, but then again, that was probably the thought process before the Falcons lost the Buccaneers last week. And a poor outcome could be the same for the Saints. Carolina basically kicked away a win last week, a game where the Saints didn’t look like a top-tier juggernaut.
Add it all up, and this would be the type of game you’d expect NBC to flex out of…
It’s primetime, mind you, so we’re looking at a real possibility everything could suddenly be an expose of Al Michales’ reflections of John Madden stuffing ducks inside of chickens inside of turkeys, with Mr. Collinsworth agreeing: “Well, you know, it’s what the season’s all about, right? You’ve got—and I don’t know how (don’t want to know how)—like seven different things going there, Al. Michelle—she’s down there to see it. What you think?”