New Orleans Saints: Expect an ugly game on Thanksgiving

The New Orleans Saints take on the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving in what is going to potentially be the ugliest game of the entire day.

The New Orleans Saints get a chance of redemption just 18 days after suffering their second loss of the season to the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons surprised the Saints, and the rest of the NFL, by coming out and firing on all cylinders in Week 10 to win convincingly, 26-9.

So many great teams have had ugly losses so this one loss was not a huge reason to be concerned. As long as the Saints reacted well then it would be just fine and that is exactly what the Saints did by winning two division games in a row against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.

Thanksgiving presents the Saints’ fourth game within the NFC South in a row and a chance at redemption against the Falcons. While the Falcons already proved that they should not be overlooked, the Saints are still entering this road game as seven-point favorites, according to the Action Network.

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I would be wary of betting the Saints, however, as I really have no idea what this game’s final score is going to be. The one thing that I know is that this is going to be an ugly game for both sides and is not going to be one that the national audience enjoys.

Starting with the positive, I really think that the New Orleans Saints’ defense is going to have a great showing in this game. They weren’t that bad against Atlanta last time around and they are going to be motivated that much more because of the loss earlier in the year.

Plus, they are coming off of a game in which they allowed the Carolina Panthers to score 31 points. You know this defense is looking for a huge game.

The Falcons only had 310 yards in that game. It was enough to get the job done, but it was not like the offense burned the Saints’ defense.

Offensively, however, the Saints are also in for a long game, even if the Falcons’ defense showed more of its true colors against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12.

The big problem for the Saints this week is injuries. Andrus Peat was already slated to miss the game and it appears as if left tackle Terron Armstead is going to miss the game as well. That leaves Brees with his backups on the left side of the line and a rookie center (albeit a good rookie center).

The Falcons had a lot of success at getting to Brees in the first encounter and that was the reason why they walked away victorious. With the left side of the line out, the Falcons can devise a gameplan to yet again get pressure in Brees’ face to make him rush throws.

At the end of the day, I think the New Orleans Saints will be motivated enough and have enough in the gas tank to get the Thanksgiving win over the Falcons.

However, because of these factors, mix with the fact that this is a short week, the Saints’ win will look more like the low-scoring wins against the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars, not like the high-scoring battle against the Panthers.