The Atlanta Falcons are 10-1 this year. The “1″ came at the hands of the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans used that victory to get back into the wildcard chase with that first win over Atlanta. The Saints climbed back with 5 of 6 wins after the shocking 0-4 start. With a chance to complete the climb last week, with Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota all losing, the Saints could not get it done against the 49ers.

Thus, just like a few weeks ago, we can almost put this in must win mode for the Saints. 9-7 may be good enough to win a tiebreaker against other wildcard contenders, but they have no margin of error if they lose tonight.

Those Saints and Falcons games have been defined by close contests. They have also, for the most part, been defined by very little home field advantage between the two Southern Dome teams. In fact, since 1990, the home team in this series is 22-24. New Orleans definitely has a chance for the sweep, and two give the Falcons their only two losses. Look for Jacquizz Rodgers to play a larger role, as he saw ten carries last week. Look for Darren Sproles to continue to work back into the mix with an even bigger role as a receiver on the other side. Look for offense, and a game defined by crucial turnovers. You might also get a big coaching decision at the end. It always seems to happen.

[photo via US Presswire]