Another winnable game, but it can easily become a loss depending on these matchups.
Last week, against the Las Vegas Raiders, the New Orleans Saints had some positive matchups that they needed to take advantage of, but they also had some worrying ones, including covering Brock Bowers. One of the main matchups I highlighted was that Bowers one, with Jonas Salksberner dealing with him. Bowers ended up being probably the main reason the Saints lost this game, and this defense could not do anything to stop them, and it was difficult because of how the Raiders used him. The Saints' CBs had to try to cover Bowers. Which was nearly impossible.
Matchups can be make-or-break in these games, and for the Saints, it's going to be worrying against some areas of the Atlanta Falcons. This team is going to need to step up, but they are also going to have areas they can take advantage of as well.
Stopping Bijan Robinson
The theme of the first 4 weeks of the season has been the Saints trying to stop great running backs. Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 1, Derrick Henry in Week 2, Ashton Jeanty in Week 3, and now Bijan Robinson. Not an easy task for a run defense that does not have the correct personnel to prevent these players from having a great day against them. To give the Saints some praise, the only RB in the first three weeks that they really couldn't do anything against was Gibbs.
If the Saints are able to prevent Robinson from, at least, carrying the Falcons offense and being unstoppable, the Saints can put pressure on Michael Penix to make all the plays, which can create mistakes.
The Saints Passing Attack
The area where the Saints can take advantage of a matchup is their passing game. Atlanta's CB room is dealing with injuries, including their top player, A.J. Terrell Jr., who is out. This is very similar to the Saints' game against the Lions, where an opportunity is in front of New Orleans to have a big day in the air. Hopefully, this can happen like what we saw in the second half of that Detroit game, and with the injury to Travis Etienne, New Orleans will need to rely on the passing game.
But just like that Detroit game, the Saints can not just expect the passing game to dominate. Mistakes will be made because of that, and there's a good chance the Falcons are prepared to get attacked through the air.
