New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - The Advocate Saints, Falcons face relatively high stakes for early-season game in brutal NFC South

BY JOEL A. ERICKSON | JERICKSON@THEADVOCATE.COM SEP 22, 2018 - 4:56 PM

A game between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons always carries a little something extra.

But this Week Three matchup between the two teams could end up being pivotal down the road.

New Orleans and Atlanta both opened this season regarded as potential contenders for the NFC playoff crown, and by the time Sunday's noon tilt at Mercedes-Benz Stadium comes to a close, one of the two teams will be 1-2.

A tough place to be in an NFC South with three returning playoff teams and a surprising Tampa Bay team off to a 2-0 start, including a season-opening win over the Saints.

"It is a divisional opponent, and it is a very, very good divisional opponent," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "I think we just know the type of game it is. They’re usually one-possession games, they're usually hard-fought."

A couple of nagging early-season issues follow both teams into this matchup.

New Orleans has struggled on defense, in explosive fashion in the opener and late against Cleveland.

And the Falcons are arguably more talented all-around than either of the two teams the Saints have faced so far. Tampa Bay has a plethora of receiving weapons for Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the Buccaneers do not have a running back like Tevin Coleman, who will get the bulk of the work with Devonta Freeman out due to a knee injury.

With Freeman out of action last week, Coleman ripped off 107 yards on just 16 carries against Carolina's talented run defense.

"I think a lot of this starts with your ability to stop the running game, because that is where everything starts," Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "I think if you said ‘what does this team do the best?’ I think this team is able to run the football and they're able to play-action pass and get some vertical routes down the field."

New Orleans has also struggled to replicate last season's vaunted rushing attack with Mark Ingram out of action. The Saints, averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, have just 105 yards rushing in the first two games.

"Overall we have to coach it better, and we have to execute it better," offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said. "At the end of that last game, it started to roll. Hopefully we continue to grow on that.”

While the Saints' issues have been something of a surprise given the profile they put together last season, Atlanta is battling a criticism that cost the Falcons dearly in the playoffs last season.

For all of its offensive weapons, Atlanta has struggled in the red zone in key situations, particularly in getting the ball to All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones against Philadelphia, the team that knocked the Falcons out of the playoffs a year ago and beat Atlanta in the season opener.

"We were doom and gloom, and then we played better in the red zone last week," Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said. "All that says is there's a lot of work to be done. There's lot of improvement to be made."

Atlanta has also been bitten hard by the injury bug early this season. Freeman and pass-rushing defensive end Takkarist McKinley will both be forced to miss this game, and the Falcons have already lost Pro Bowl middle linebacker Deion Jones, hard-hitting strong safety Keanu Neal and starting guard Andy Levitre to injured reserve.

New Orleans, on the other hand, is relatively healthy, evening the playing field as they open the season series in Atlanta's house.

"For sure, it's hard for us," Quinn said. "Often-times, these guys who are put into these roles haven’t (gotten) extended playing time, but when they get their opportunities and they nail it, it's a good feeling. We expect that to be the case with some of these men.”

A team can start 1-2 and still make the playoffs — New Orleans bounced back from an 0-2 start last season to win the division — but the Buccaneers' early-season surge has made the NFL's toughest division even harder to navigate, and both the Saints and Falcons face difficult schedules ahead.

"That has a lot to do with really a number of things," Saints head coach Sean Payton said. "The organization, do they have a quarterback, how have they done with their acquisition of personnel ... I think that you're getting strong quarterback play, and you have for a little bit here, in our division."

Whichever quarterback comes out on the wrong end of this showdown might have some catching up to do.