NFL Week 16 Betting – Falcons, Saints Battle for Potential Division Title

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints (-5.5, 56 o/u)

Are you starting to get the feeling that nobody wants to win the NFC South? Me too.

Nevertheless, the Atlanta Falcons (5-9, 2-5 away) will take on the New Orleans Saints (6-8, 3-4 home) this Sunday (1:00 p.m. Eastern) in a game that could determine the division winner.

“We all understand where we’re at,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “We know we control our own destiny. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does. The first thing we have to do is go down and play very well and win the game in New Orleans.”

In order for the Falcons to get into the playoffs, only to presumably lose in the wild card round (snicker), Atlanta has to beat the Saints this Sunday and Carolina next week. The bad news for the Falcons is that they have only won two straight games once this year. The good news is that those games were also against division rivals (Tampa Bay and Carolina in weeks 10 and 11, respectively).

Part of the reason for Atlanta’s dreadful record is the shaky play of quarterback Matt Ryan, who is supposed to be a franchise QB.

Still, over the last three games, Ryan seems to be finding some consistency, passing for over 1,000 yards, eight TDs, and three picks.

With stud receiver Julio Jones back in action this week, Ryan has a good chance to continue his hot streak. Jones, who led the league in receiving after 14 weeks, missed last week’s loss to the Steelers with a hip injury.

“It’s tough when he’s not in,” Ryan said. “He’s such a special player, such a dynamic player for us.”

Without Jones, the Falcons could only muster two majors at home, and fell 27-20 to the Steelers as two-point home underdogs.

As for the Saints, the team took over sole possession of first place in the division after crushing the Bears, 31-15, in Chicago in week 15. Not only did Drew Brees throw for 375 yards, but tight end Jimmy Graham added five catches for 87 yards, and the Saints covered as three-point road favorites.

“I think we’ve shown a couple times we can handle adversity, let’s make sure we can handle success, too,” said Drew Brees. “The tendency after success is to relax, and it’s not time to relax.”

While New Orleans’ home record isn’t where it used to be, the team still boasts a tough defense, which kept the Bears to 278 total yards, picked off Jay Cutler three times, and sacked him seven.

“I think there’s a sense of urgency that we need to create each week, and we need to be mindful of how important that edge is to play well,” coach Sean Payton said.

Even though the Saints are at home, the right pick in this intense divisional matchup is the Falcons and the points (+5.5).

(Photo credit: Kelly Bailey [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)