Arguably the best rivalry in the NFC South will happen on Sunday afternoon in week 12 of the NFL season when the New Orleans Saints travel to Atlanta, Georgia to face the Atlanta Falcons at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the game scheduled to start at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday afternoon and will air regionally on Fox.

Despite only having a record of 5-5, the New Orleans Saints are in 1^st place in the NFC South, however, they have lost three of their last five games including a 19-27 loss on the road against the Minnesota Vikings in week 10 which also ended their two-game winning streak. The running game for the Saints has been below average this season as they enter this game averaging the 11^th fewest rushing yards per game with an average of 100 yards per game. However, the passing offense has been one of the best as they are averaging 237.4 passing yards per game which ranks 12^th in the league. Derek Carr has also had a solid season in his first year in New Orleans as he has completed 220 of 334 attempts for 2,231 yards with ten touchdowns and four interceptions. The Saints will face their heated rival, the Atlanta Falcons, for the first time this season and will be looking to widen the gap between them for 1^st place in the NFC South on Sunday afternoon.

Atlanta is below .500 this season, however, if they win against New Orleans they will be tied with the Saints for 1^st place in the NFC South as they enter this game with a record of 4-6 which puts them in a tie for 2^nd place with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons have struggled over their last five games as they have lost four of the five games and are on a three-game losing streak following a 23-25 loss on the road against the Arizona Cardinals in week 10. The offense for the Falcons has been one of the worst in the NFL as they are averaging 18.9 points per game which ranks 9^th in the league and the passing game has been one of the main reasons for their struggles on offense as they are averaging just over 200 passing yards per game. Desmond Ridder will be the starting quarterback for the Falcons on Sunday for the first time since week 7 as Taylor Heinicke struggled in their last game throwing for only 55 yards. 

BookMaker has the New Orleans Saints listed as 1-point favorites on the road against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon in week 12 of the NFL season. New Orleans has won eight of the last ten including the previous three meetings while going 6-4 ATS in the last ten, however, the Falcons are 2-1 in the last three games in the series. The New Orleans Saints are 2-7-1 ATS overall, 2-3-1 ATS on the road, 1-7-1 ATS as a favorite, and 0-1-1 ATS in division games this season while the Atlanta Falcons are 2-8 ATS overall, 1-4 ATS at home, 1-2 ATS as an underdog, and 2-0 ATS in division games on the year.

New Orleans has dominated the last ten games in the series against Atlanta as they have won eight of the last ten including the previous three matchups. The Saints have won by an average margin of 4.3 points per game over the last ten and 4.67 points per game over the last three games in the series. As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the New Orleans Saints at -115 when they travel to face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon.