The Atlanta Falcons have their sights set on the franchise’s first NFC South title since 2016.
For the New Orleans Saints? Any old win would do after extending their NFL-worst losing streak to seven games last week at Carolina.
The Falcons (6-3) are all alone in first place as they visit the Saints (2-7) on Sunday afternoon. After a 2-0 start went south sharply, the Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday and a day later traded former All-Pro cornerback Marshon Lattimore to the Washington Commanders for draft picks.
Atlanta has a two-game lead on second-place Tampa Bay and is 4-0 in the division, including a 26-24 victory against New Orleans in Week 4. The Falcons stood pat as the trade deadline passed Tuesday.
“We feel really good about the guys we’ve got,” first-year head coach Raheem Morris said. “So, feeling really good about where we’re at.”
Morris said New Orleans could be a dangerous team as it seeks a reset of a season that started with two impressive victories. He said Atlanta needs “an increased urgency for us to go out there and win.”
“(The Saints are) able to start over and instill some different things,” Morris said. “When a coach gets fired, the urgency in the building is certainly increased from the ownership all the way down and throughout the organization.”
When these longtime rivals met on Sept. 29, the Falcons were 1-2 and the Saints were 2-1. New Orleans took a 24-23 lead on Alvin Kamara’s 1-yard touchdown run with a minute remaining.
On the ensuing possession, a pass interference penalty on Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo gave Atlanta all of the 30 yards it needed for Younghoe Koo to kick a career-long 58-yard field goal for the winning points with two seconds remaining.
That started a three-game winning streak and a stretch of five wins in six games for the Falcons. At the same time, injuries to key players and losses started to mount for New Orleans.
The Saints fired Allen, who was 18-25 in two-plus seasons, after a 23-22 loss to the Panthers in Week 9 left the two teams tied — along with seven others — with the fewest wins in the NFL.
They promoted special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi to replace Allen. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods will take over the defensive play-calling duties that Allen had.
Rizzi said “everything will be evaluated and re-evaluated” while acknowledging that “wholesale changes” aren’t possible nine games into the season. He shook up the practice routine Wednesday, saying “we have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
“I don’t think anybody has lost hope,” he added, “but right now the product is unacceptable. We have to improve in a lot of areas.”
The Saints are 28th in scoring defense even though Allen’s success as defensive coordinator was the primary reason he was promoted to succeed Sean Payton after the 2021 season.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu acknowledged that the defense “was the main reason” Allen was fired.
“We have to find a way to start having fun again,” Mathieu added.
“Our backs are against the wall literally,” Saints quarterback Derek Carr said. “We put ourselves there. We’re trying to get better every day and we’ve got to be ready to fight back. You can either quit or keep fighting. I think our locker room is filled with guys who are going to keep fighting.”
Three Saints starters — wide receiver Chris Olave (concussion), cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (hamstring) and guard Lucas Patrick (ankle) — and Falcons starting linebacker Matthew Judon (illness) — missed practice Wednesday.
