Monday Night Football Betting Prediction & Preview — King Sports Picks
Atlanta Falcons (1–1 SU, 1–1 ATS, 2–0 O/U) at New Orleans Saints (0–2 SU, 1–1 ATS, 1–1 O/U)
NFL: Monday, September 26, 2016 at 8:30 p.m. ET
The Line: New Orleans Saints -2.5, Total: 53.5
The New Orleans Saints played the Atlanta Falcons well last season, sweeping the season series (2–0) in 2015. New Orleans hopes the trend continues and they can notch their 1st win of the 2016 season. Atlanta bounced back from an opening loss at home to Tampa Bay in Week 1, to defeat Oakland on the road, 35–28, in Week 2. The Falcons are 2–0 ATS and opened as +3 point road underdogs but it has since dropped to +2.5 on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints defense will have their hands full with Matt Ryan and co. Ryan has thrown for 730 yards with five TDs and one pick (121.4 rating) and is completing over 72% of his passes. Julio Jones and Jacob Tamme have combined for 298 receiving yards and three touchdowns and the ground game is averaging 95.5 YPG. Atlanta’s biggest hurdle to overcome this season will once again be their defense. So far, they are allowing 29 PPG and they struggle getting pressure on the opposing quarterbacks notching only 1 sack on the season.
Drew Brees and the Saints are desperate for a win. Brees has done his part, but like the Falcons, their defense is one of the worst in the NFL. Brees has thrown for 686 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. New Orleans has failed to get their run game going and average only 64 YPG while Mark Ingram has only 88 yards on the season.
The betting public appears to be backing the Saints at home despite their flaws. A desperate team is always a tough opponent. Atlanta has fared well as a visitor in this series, going 27–10 ATS since 1978, but the Saints are 29–8 SU and 25–11–1 ATS at home under Sean Payton against foes off a win. I find the stronger edge in playing the Total as the Total has gone over for the Falcons in 4 straight Monday Night away games and New Orleans is 5–1 OVER in their last 6 Monday Night home games. Both quarterbacks can sling the ball and neither defense has the personnel to stop opposing teams.
Monday Night Football Betting Prediction
Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints Prediction: Over 53.5
