Week 8 NFL Lines: MNF Falcons vs. Saints

Monday Night Football Betting – Falcons Can Play With The Saints

The New Orleans Saints might still be perfect, they might be off another impressive win and they might be the last undefeated team in the NFC. But that doesn’t mean they are untouchable.

There is no doubt that the Saints offense is still among the best in the NFL. And their defense has clearly closed the gap and has improved. But it seems like whenever the “perfect” talk starts happening is when the tighter contests start to come.

Time: 8:30 ET
Venue: Superdome
Falcons vs. Saints Monday Night Football Lines
MoneyLine: Falcons +450 / Saints -600
Spread: Saints -11
Over/Under: 55

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After last week’s performance in Dallas, not many people believe that the Falcons can keep pace with the Saints but that was a throw away game for the Falcons. Prior to that, they had been one of the most impressive teams in the NFC.

On Monday Night Football, in a division rivalry, we should expect to see lots of fireworks but also a tight contest between two complete teams.

Falcons offense versus Saints defense

The Saints defense has improved this year – totaling five defensive touchdowns in six games – but so has the Falcons offense. Clearly, they still have some consistency issues but with the growth of Matt Ryan and the addition of Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons really do have a dynamic offense.

The game will probably be won on the line of scrimmage and for the Falcons, their battle will be to open some holes and allow running back Michael Turner to get to the second level of the Saints defense.

While most people remember the Saints big comeback last week, they should also remember that the Saints gave up 34 points to the Miami Dolphins. This Falcons team should be capable of doing the same even though their style of offense is very different.

Saints offense versus Falcons defense

The Saints offense is firing on all cylinders right now, which could be bad news for the makeshift Falcons secondary. Even worse for the Falcons is the thought that the offense that swept them in two games last year might be even more lethal.

While Reggie Bush has essentially been a non-factor this year, playmakers like Jeremy Shockey and Robert Meachem have become reliable threats. On top of that, with Bush out of the way, Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas have churned out good, steady yards on the ground.

The Falcons best hopes is that John Abraham and Mike Peterson can make some big plays and maybe force a turnover or two. Other than that, their best defense may be their offense.

Outlook & Pick
The Saints look better coming into this matchup but really there isn’t a huge gap between these two teams. The Falcons defense is worse than the Saints defense and the Saints offense is further ahead than the Falcons offense. Beyond that, the Saints are at home.

Even so, this is a division rivalry and while the Saints should win, look for it to be closer than the sportsbooks expect.

Pick: Falcons +10

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Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.