Atlanta Falcons: Rivalry with Saints will change after 2020

Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints face off for the 103rd time this week.

Regardless of what the records are either the Atlanta Falcons or the New Orleans Saints, this game is always among the best in the NFL. One could argue this is among the top rivalries in all of the professional sports in the United States.

2020 will start the seventh decade that these two franchises will meet. While the Falcons own the overall head to head record, 53-49, the Saints own the decade battle, 3-2-1. The Falcons have not won a decade since the 1990s.

Between 2000-2019, the Saints went 25-15 against the Falcons – though most of those wins have come under the leadership of head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees. 2020 seems to be a year that we will be out with the old and in with the new for both franchises.

This will be Drew Brees’ last year in New Orleans. Matter of fact, he may not even play this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons as he left their game against the 49ers after taking a hit to the ribs. Ian Rapoport is reporting this morning that the Saints are “bracing for Brees to miss some time to fully heal”.

The Falcons as well are making huge changes as they will replace longtime general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn. As Arthur Blank stated at that press conference, any future changes to personnel will be left up to the new regime coming in.

Both teams have winning streaks coming into this week’s matchup as well.

The Saints have won six straight games and currently sit at 7-2 overall and are first place in the NFC South while the Atlanta Falcons have won two straight and three out of four since the firing of Dan Quinn after an 0-5 start. They currently have sole possession of third place in the NFC South.

Matt Ryan is 4-8 in New Orleans since arriving in 2008, though he did put on quite the show last year leading the Atlanta Falcons to a 26-9 win in a game no one expected the Falcons to win. A lot of that same rhetoric will be heard this week as well.

Saints hate week is always a fun one and this week should be no different.