New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons Prediction, 1/9/2022 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 18

Game: New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons

Date: Sunday, January 9, 2022

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Falcons (+3.5)

Total/Over-Under: 42

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is where the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) will take on the New Orleans Saints (8-8) on Sunday. New Orleans opens this contest as 3.5-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total comes in at 42.

The New Orleans Saints head into this matchup 8-8 for this season. In their last contest, the Saints faced the Panthers and earned the victory with a final of 18-10. Alvin Kamara was the rushing leader for the Saints with 13 attempts for 32 yds (2.5 yards per carry). Marquez Callaway had an average of 16.2 yds per catch by totaling 97 yds on 6 catches. Taysom Hill went 17/28 with 222 yards through the air and 1 TD. He had a quarterback rating of 97.6 and finished the contest without throwing a pick. Against the rush, the Saints gave up 88 yards on 26 attempts, which is an average of 3.4 yards per run surrendered. New Orleans conceded 17 pass completions on 26 attempts for a total of 90 yards, and a completion percentage of 65.4%. Once the final whistle blew, they tallied 58 plays which totaled 280 yards. The New Orleans Saints rushed the ball a total of 28 different times and recorded 73 yds, which came out to an average of 2.6 yards per tote.

In terms of getting in the endzone, the New Orleans Saints are averaging 20.9 points per outing. Offensively they maintain an average of 112.3 yards via the ground game which has them sitting 17th in the National Football League. The Saints have earned 4,808 total yards for the year. New Orleans has 156 first downs as an offense, and they have been called for 94 penalties for 771 yds. They have given the ball to the opposition 18 different times (13 picks and 5 fumbles lost). When it comes to distribution of touchdowns, New Orleans has amassed 26 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns.

The Saints are sitting in 4th in the NFL in relation to team defense, conceding 19.7 PPG. The opposition is running for an average of 3.7 yards per run and 95.4 rushing yards per contest this year. During the season, they have given up 1,527 running yards through 16 contests. When talking about yards via the pass, the Saints have allowed 3,626 yards which puts them in 14th in football. They have given up 226.6 yards per outing through the air as well as allowing a completion percentage of 62.4%. During the season, they have relinquished 322.1 yards/game which puts them 8th in the NFL. They have given up 19 touchdowns via the pass as well as 11 touchdowns via the ground game.

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The Falcons head into this game 7-9 for this season. In their last game, the Falcons took a loss by a score of 29-15 when they played the Bills. Matt Ryan finished the game with 197 yards on 13/23 through the air while his quarterback rating was 84.9. He didn't throw any picks and his average yards per pass attempt was 8.57 yards. Mike Davis carried the ball 8 times for 42 yds, ending the game with 5.3 yards per carry for Atlanta. Russell Gage was featured in the passing game for the Falcons, bringing in 3 footballs for 50 yds (16.7 yds per catch). Atlanta ran the ball for 4.4 yards per attempt, finishing the game with 96 yds on 22 attempts. The Falcons finished the game with a total of 265 yards while running 50 plays (5.3 yds per play). The Falcons secondary allowed a completion rate of 42.3%, relinquishing 118 yds on 11 out of 26 through the air. Atlanta relinquished 44 attempts on the ground for 233 yards (5.3 yds per rush).

In relation to the points being put on the board, the Falcons are ranked 27th in the NFL by tallying 18.3 points per game. Over the course of the season to this point, the Falcons have a total of 3,518 yards via the pass along with holding an average of 219.9 throwing yards per game, which has them sitting 18th out of all NFL teams. They are averaging 86.8 yards per game on the ground and have run for 1,389 yards for the year. The Atlanta Falcons maintain an average of 306.7 yards/game which has them sitting 26th out of all teams in the NFL. The Atlanta offense has compiled 707 yds of penalties on 87 violations, ranking them 25th in the NFL in terms of helping out the opposition. They have given away 14 picks while losing 9 fumbles and they have obtained 187 first downs.

Atlanta has allowed a total of 2,047 yards on the ground (127.9 yards per contest) in addition to 19 touchdowns rushing for the season. They have conceded 28 touchdowns through the air as well as 236.1 yards per contest, which has them ranked 19th out of all teams. Their defense has compiled 20 takeaways (8 fumbles recovered and 12 interceptions) on the campaign. Overall, they have relinquished 429 total points. The Falcons defense taken the field for 1,043 plays, which has them sitting 27th in football. The Falcons are allowing 26.8 PPG, which has them ranked 29th in the NFL.

Who will win tonight's Saints/Falcons NFL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Saints -3.5

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