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Some people might look back at the New Orleans Saints’ season opening win over the Atlanta Falcons last year and conclude the fate of each team was set on the final meaningful play of the game.

After safety Kenny Vaccaro tipped a Matt Ryan pass away from Tony Gonzalez in the end zone to Roman Harper, who dived to pull in the interception and seal the Saints’ 23-17 win, the teams were sent down different paths. New Orleans finished the year 11-5, while the Falcons limped to a 4-12 finish.

Did the Saints end up on the right side of the momentum that day? Were the Falcons crushed underneath it?

It’s possible both of those things happened, but that might not be asking the right question.

The right question is this: Does momentum even exist on a week-to-week basis?

The idea of what happened one week somehow influencing the next week is something that Bill Belichick will not entertain. The New England Patriots coach has fielded that inquiry several times throughout his tenure, and each time he dismisses it by saying something along the lines of, “Each week’s different, each game’s different.”

But not everyone agrees with Belichick — at least not fully.


Read more: Saints and Falcons hope to set the tone for their seasons in opener on Sunday | Sports | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

hagan714

huge game right out of the gate. It is the NFC south and anytime you can get a road win it is huge. records do not matter

SaintsBro

After watching all the ridiculous, 'roided out fighting, pushing, and chest-beating in Falcons training camp and preseason on Hard Knocks, and hearing Smith talking about "toughness" and "that's a good penalty!".... I totally fully expect a bench-clearing brawl to break out in this one, before we even get to the second quarter. The Falcons players are physically outmatched, so they are gonna be throwing punches, picking fights, and trying to get Saints players ejected -- just you watch. It's there as a sub-theme in every single episode of Hard Knocks. Their body language and rhetoric is all based on frustration and playground insecurity, and self-doubt.

ScottF

Truth is, this a bigger game for them than us. If we lose, it is a road loss in week one and we get back to business and go 11-5.

They lose and it's a home division loss against a rival that owns them. Add that to 8 tough years against Brees and a 4-12 record last year and they just might fold again early this year.

TheOak

Winning for us however is fairly huge for a few reasons.

1. Given the best expectation for division rivals is to split, beating them in the away game tilts the odds in our favor of sweeping in the second game in the dome.

2. It would be a road win which is huge for our confidence.

3. A lopsided road win would be huge as well.

Most importantly 12-4 goes a loooong way to home field advantage when we face the Seahawks in the playoffs. Every single game we play is monumental in regards to having to go to Seattle.

Rugby Saint II

Set the pace early and hold the gas down throughout the season.

hagan714

who we playing? falcons. must win game even if we are o14 and they are the last two games left.

Papa Voodoo

Negative momentum exists (i.e., a team going 0-4 and continuing to lose) so, therefore, positive momentum exists. It's widely stated that a team that "gets hot" going into the playoffs is dangerous.

|Mitch|

Except the Saints in 2009; losing the last three was not "hot" heading into the playoffs...

AllSaints

We need this win on the road, it will give us even more confidence for heading to Cleveland starting out 2-0 back in the Dome will be huge ! Lets beat these dirty birds !