Saints Defeat Reeling Falcons

One of the NFL teams that has a legit chance of winning the Super Bowl next February is the New Orleans Saints. They now have an amazing record of 10-1 after putting together a winning streak of 10 games. QB Drew Brees is having arguably the best season of his brilliant Hall of Fame career. The team could not be playing better than it is right now. The Saints knocked off the Atlanta Falcons for an easy 31-17 win on Thanksgiving at the Superdome. It was the third loss in a row for the Falcons. They now find themselves at 4-7 with no realistic chance of making the playoffs. They have been officially eliminated from the division race. They could still win a wild card. However, they would need a lot of help.

The Saints have a great chance to get home field advantage throughout the playoffs if they can compile the best overall record in the NFC. The only team that has a legit chance of having a better record than the Saints is the Los Angeles Rams. The Falcons thought they were real Super Bowl contenders before the start of the season. However, they lost a few games early because their defense was not able to stop the opposition on drives in the fourth quarter. They lost the lead repeatedly. They also had a costly loss a few weeks ago to the lowly Cleveland Browns. The loss to the Saints was the result of their own self destruction. The Falcons fumbled the ball three times in the red zone. A team will have have a hard time winning a game when they do that.

One of the things that has allowed the Saints to compile such an impressive record has been the fact that they have not suffered any key injuries. Being able to stay healthy is important to any football team. This is especially true when you get into late November and you have 10 games under your belt. Many teams like the Eagles have been decimated by injuries. That has not been the case for the Saints.

The Falcons will be playing out the string in the month of December. They know that their chances of making the playoffs are basically nonexistent. This will be the first time in the past five years that the Falcons will have a meaningless month of December. Owner Arthur Blank will not be happy.