Previewing the Saints’ matchups against their NFC South rival
The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons will face off twice in the 2025 season in Week 12 and Week 18. Every year, fans, players and coaches have these two games circled on their calendar because while every game counts for something, this matchup means a bit more to both squads.
This rivalry has been about as even as it can be. They’re 56-56 all time, and the series has been split each of the last two seasons. The Saints have owned the Dirty Birds for the better part of the 21st century, but the tides are beginning to shift in the Falcons favor.
The Saints are beginning a multi-year rebuild while the Falcons hope they’re exiting the rebuilding stage and entering the contending stage. They think they’ve found their franchise quarterbacks and have some solid pieces around him, so many think this could be the year they return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The Falcons are set to start their second-year quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. The lefty appeared in five games and threw for 775 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions while adding another score with his legs. He showed some flashes, most notably when he threw for 312 and two touchdowns in a 44-38 OT win over the Panthers, so they hope he can build on a solid rookie season.
Offensively, Penix has all the talent he could ask for. Drake London is a bonafide WR1, but he also has guys like Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McLoud who had strong 2024 seasons. At tight end he has Kyle Pitts, who’s an athletic freak and has flashed, but needs to be more consistent. Sharing the backfield with him is Bijan Robinson, who’s proved to be one of the most efficient and elusive backs in the league. This core of playmakers isn’t the best in the league, but it’s more than suitable.
The Falcons offensive line is also regarded as one of the better lines in the league. They finished seventh in sack rate (5.4%) and ninth in pressure rate (32%) last season, so if they can replicate that performance, it’ll go a long way in helping Penix out.
Defensively, Atlanta had one of the worst defenses in the league, but they hope they can take the next step under second year head coach, Raheem Morris. They spent a ton of draft capital on their defensive line, adding two first round edge rushers in James Pearce and Jalon Walker. They traded away a future first to move up for Pearce, but if he’s as good as they think he can be, their defensive line, which was one of the worst in the league, will be very good in the near future.
Their secondary could still use some help, though. The Falcons gave up 224.5 passing yards per game (24th), and they didn’t do a whole lot to bolster that group. A.J. Terrell has not been nearly as productive as he was early in his career and Dee Alford and Mike Hughes don’t seem to be the answer alongside him.
The Falcons still have Jessie Bates at safety, but lost Justin Simmons. They drafted Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts and signed Jordan Fuller to try and replace him, but we’re yet to see how they’ll fit into this system.
Overall, the Falcons are a better team than the Saints, but this is a hard series to sweep. Even when one team is completely outmatched, they seem to play each other close more often than not, so we’ll see if the Saints can steal a game or two from their archrivals.