The Atlanta Falcons enter Week 18 relatively healthy, which is the best case scenario given a matchup with the rival New Orleans Saints is on the docket. And even though there are no playoff implications on the line in Atlanta on Sunday, both franchises badly want to prevail in this affair.
The Falcons are circling their first sweep of the Saints since 2016, but that would also require snapping a four-game win streak from their NFC South rivals. Luckily, their chances just received a massive bump after it was reported that a blood clot was discovered in star WR Chris Olave's lung.
Saints WR Chris Olave will be out Sunday after doctors discovered a blood clot in his lung, as @nick_underhill reported. Olave has no prior history with blood clots, and he now is expected to be sidelined for about a month before being ready for the off-season program. pic.twitter.com/WLDrWuknjN
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 1, 2026
Obviously, this is an instance where football isn't as important, and ensuring that Olave is okay is the priority, regardless of the on-field animosity between the Saints and Falcons. However, this is also a devastating blow to a wideout who has been playing some of the best football of his career these last few weeks.
Chris Olave's Week 18 absence is (unfortunately) a good sign for the Falcons
Through 17 weeks in 2025, the 25-year-old has been sensational, which is largely due to his rapport with Saints' rookie QB Tyler Shough. Olave has caught 100 passes for 1,163 and nine touchdowns this season, while he recorded career-highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns on the year.
Moreover, the former Ohio State Buckeye currently ranks seventh in the NFL in receiving and is one of just six players to catch at least 100 passes this year. Olave has also scored four touchdowns in his last three games and accumulated a career-high 148 receiving yards two weeks ago against the Jets.
Since Shough replaced Spencer Rattler as the starter in early November, the veteran wideout has displayed elite potential. In eight starts with the 2025 second-round pick, Olave has surpassed 100 receiving yards three times and has also done so in back-to-back games for New Orleans' offense.
Olave immediately emerged as Shough's favorite target, which helped kick-start the winning streak to begin with. But without him, their receiver depth will suffer, as Kevin Austin Jr., Mason Tipton, and Dante Pettis will operate as the starting wideouts against a banged-up Atlanta secondary.
Luckily, it was detected early before anything serious happened, but will miss the next month prior to the NFL's offseason program. It gives the Falcons a better shot to pull off the season sweep, but you can only wish it happened under better circumstances, in all honesty.