NFL odds: Falcons, Saints renew rivalry on Monday Night Football

The Saints and Falcons will meet almost 10 years to the day of their Monday night meeting at the Superdome that marked the return of the NFL to New Orleans.

The Saints (0–2) will try to earn their first victory of the season when they host the Falcons (1–1) in Week 3’s Monday Night Football matchup as three-point home favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The Saints and Falcons will meet almost 10 years to the day of their Monday night meeting at the Superdome that marked the return of the NFL to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a memorable 23–3 Saints victory that has added emotion to this rivalry in the ensuing years.

Since the start of the 2006 season, New Orleans holds a 15–5 lead in the series and has gone 11–9 against the spread during that stretch, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

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The Falcons are just 3–11 ATS in their last 14 games overall but rebounded from a disappointing 31–24 upset loss at home to the Buccaneers in the season opener by topping the Raiders 35–28 as four-point road underdogs in Week 2.

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan ranks second in the NFL in passing yards with 730 and has thrown five touchdowns with only one interception through the first two games.

Brees has yet to throw a pick for the Saints, but he was held in check by the Giants’ defense last week with 263 yards in a 16–13 road loss. New Orleans did manage to cover the spread as a 3.5-point road dog in a surprisingly low-scoring affair that saw New York quarterback Eli Manning throw for 368 yards but no touchdowns in a defensive battle.

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Bettors expecting to see a lot of points in this betting matchup should be prepared for the opposite based on two recent trends: The under is 5-1-1 in the past seven meetings between these NFC South rivals and 7–0 in Atlanta’s last seven games against teams with losing records.

The over has cashed in the previous six home games for New Orleans though, and that may need to happen again for the Saints to get a win here.