New Orleans at Atlanta 8:30 pm ESPN December 10, 2007

The Saints need this to stay in playoff contention and the Falcons would love to ruin the Saints season.

Oddsmakers currently have the Saints listed as 3½-point favorites versus the Falcons, while the game's total is sitting at 43½.

The Saints lost to Tampa Bay 27-23 as a 5.5-point underdog in Week 13. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (41.5).

Drew Brees completed 17-of-23 passes for 179 yards with two touchdowns for New Orleans and Reggie Bush rushed for 64 yards on 13 carries.

The Falcons lost to St. Louis 28-16 as a 3-point underdog in Week 13. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (40).

Chris Redman completed 16-of-24 passes for 172 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for Atlanta, while Roddy White caught 10 passes for 146 yards with a touchdown.

New Orleans has won three straight against Atlanta, including a 22-16 victory on Oct. 21 at the Superdome. The Falcons led 16-14 in the fourth quarter before Brees' 4-yard touchdown pass to Bush put the Saints ahead for good. The Saints are 26th in the league in total defense, giving up 351.7 yards per game and in the last meeting, the Falcons generated more offense (334 yards vs. 310 yards) in the first meeting between these two and piled up 435 yards of offense against the Rams. The Falcons are 26th in total offense, averaging just under 300 yards per game.

The Saints (5-7) have lost three out of four. The Falcons (3-9) have lost three straight and haven't scored more than 16 points since Week 10 - one of only four times they have done so all season. New Orleans won the first meeting between these teams, 22-16, in Week 7.

A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New Orleans's last 8 games when playing Atlanta
New Orleans is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Atlanta
New Orleans is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
New Orleans is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 8 games when playing New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Atlanta's last 21 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games at home
Atlanta is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against New Orleans
 

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