New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons Free Thursday Night Football Pick, 12–7–2017
Free NFL Spread Pick by Pepper Shannon of Sports Investor Central
New Orleans Saints (9–3) vs Atlanta Falcons (7–5)
Time: December, 7th 8:25 PM EST
Current Odds: Falcons -1
An NFC South matchup takes center stage on Thursday night as the New Orleans Saints travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. New Orleans is one of the hottest teams in the NFL winning 9 of their last 10 games while the Falcons just saw their three-game winning streak snapped. The Saints opened as -4 point favorites, offshore, however, this line has moved to Falcons -1, depending on your book.
New Orleans is coming from a 31–21 victory over the Carolina Panthers, with Drew Brees completing 25 of 34 passes for 269 yards and a TD. On the ground, running back Mark Ingram rushed fora total 85 yards and a TD in 14 carries while fellow running back Alvin Kamara put in additional 60 yards and two TDs in nine carries. The Saints are (8–4 ATS) on the season and enter this matchup with the #2 ranked offense in the NFL, while their defense ranks 12th allowing 20 PPG.
The Atlanta Falcons are sitting third in NFC South, a full two games behind the rival New Orleans Saints. Atlanta is coming from a 14–9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13 of the 2017 season. The Atlanta Falcons have lost three of their last five home games. Matt Ryan is completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 3,057 yards, 16touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Despite being banged up at times, Atlanta is eighth in the NFL in total defense and sixth in passing defense. Make no mistake about this team, they are not the 2016 version of the Atlanta Falcons.
Thursday night games are tough for teams to rebound working off short rest. The home field edge goes to Atlanta but the Saints have played well Away, (4–2 SU). New Orleans has been the better team all season with a balanced offense and respectable defense. We aren’t quite sure which Atlanta team will take the field? Will it be the team that went into Seattle and pulled out a win or the team that lost to Miami? The Falcons have not been good against the number this season, (5–7 ATS) and I simply don’t have enough confidence to back them as favorites in this matchup. New Orleans has been much more consistent which is why I like the Saints and will take the +1 point.
Saints vs Falcons FREE Pick: Saints +1
