The Atlanta Falcons would like nothing more than to kickstart their 2014-15 season by besting the New Orleans Saints at home in Sunday's opener. The game is obviously important to the NFC South, one of the toughest divisions in football, but it's especially important given just how miserable Atlanta's 2013 campaign was. The Falcons fell to the Saints in the opener last year and went on to win just four games, missing the playoffs by a wide, wide margin.
Saints vs. Falcons 2014: Time, TV schedule, radio and how to watch online
The Falcons are healthy and would like to get things started off with a win, but Drew Brees tends to dominate these matchups. Here’s how to watch this NFC South showdown on Sunday.
Chris Graythen
New Orleans was just as solid as ever, though, going 11-5 and making it into the playoffs. This time around, they were a wild card team thanks to the Carolina Panthers finishing the season with a 12-4 record. It seems like as long as Drew Brees and Sean Payton are around, the Saints will be fine. That's backed up by the fact that the only time the Saints have missed the playoffs recently came in 2012, when Payton was suspended due to his role in the bounty scandal.
Atlanta is hoping to bounce back and have a much, much better year -- hopefully without the burden of the extensive injury list they had last season -- and such a year should begin with a win over the Saints. Carolina is the new favorite in the NFC South, but this being a three- or even four-team race wouldn’t be shocking. Whoever wins this game has an early leg up on the division.
How to watch
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
When: 1 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch
Radio: Saints Radio Network, Falcons Radio Network
Online streaming: NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL Mobile
Nuts and bolts
New Orleans' offense was just as good as advertised a season ago. Brees led the No. 2 passing offense in the NFL, behind only the Denver Broncos, with 307.4 passing yards per game. The running game was somewhat lethargic, which again was expected at 92.1 rushing yards per game on average. That offense will be going up against an Atlanta defense that ranked 21st against the pass and 31st against the rush.
Meanwhile, Atlanta's offense was seventh in the league in passing and 32nd in rushing. Then again, the Falcons lost wide receiver Roddy White and Julio Jones for a large portion of the season, and running back Steven Jackson was never fully healthy. They had many reasons to fail and fail hard, and they did so in the grandest of fashions.
But as usual, this game will come down to whether or not Atlanta can stop Brees. He completed 72.1 percent of his passes for 635 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in two games against the Falcons last season. Tight end Jimmy Graham hauled in nine receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns in those games.
Further reading
For more on the Falcons, go to The Falcoholic. For more on the Saints, Canal Street Chronicles has you covered.
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