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This Monday night, the day after Christmas, has the 9-5 Atlanta Falcons visiting the 11-3 New Orleans Saints in the Big Easy at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in a game that could prove to be huge for both teams in terms of their respective playoff positioning.

Not only can New Orleans clinch the NFC South Division title with a victory of the Falcons, but they would also move themselves one step closer to securing the second seed in the NFC and a first round playoff bye. With a win over Atlanta, coupled by a loss by the San Francisco 49ers against the Seahawks and the noise of the 12th man in Seattle, the Saints would own the number 2 seed with a better overall record (12-3) than San Francisco (11-4) heading into week 17.

Atlanta, on the other hand, can clinch a playoff spot by beating New Orleans on the road this week. The Falcons are still dreaming of a repeat as division champs with a win over the Saints in NOLA and a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in Atlanta next week, along with another home loss by New Orleans to the Carolina Panthers in week 17. It sounds like too much to ask for and, if you ask me, it really is.

Atlanta leads the head-to-head series over New Orleans 45-38 in the regular season and 1-0 in the post-season. That much is true, but the Saints have gone 9-2 over the Falcons since HC Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees 9 came to New Orleans in 2006. The Black and Gold swept the series over the Dirty Birds in 2006, 2007 and 2009, while splitting it in 2008 and last year. So far in 2011, New Orleans has the edge with a victory over the Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

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New Orleans Saints Week 16 Pregame: "Eat Mor Falkin" | isportsweb