New Orleans must set the tone vs. well-armed Falcons passing offense

1 week ago 2

The New Orleans Saints wrap up their 2025 season with a trip to play their most bitter rival, the Atlanta Falcons. This will be a rematch of a Week 12 showdown, when the Falcons took a 24-10 victory in New Orleans. The Saints enter the finale with a 6-10 record, having won four in a row. Atlanta has won three in a row themselves, putting them at 7-9 for this rematch.

New Orleans has had one of the league's best defenses down the stretch. It's a unit that ranks 9th overall, even after a fairly uneven start to the year. They'll counter a Falcons offense that's 13th in yardage production, but only 24th in points scored. The Saints have been particularly formidable against the pass, where they'll face a familiar foe in Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Falcons Passing Game

210.3 yards per game (19th)
61.2% completion percentage
18 touchdowns (26th)
7 interceptions (3rd)
22 sacks

Cousins, a 14-year veteran, has been statistically productive through most of his overrated career. However, the Falcons have actually averaged less yardage (209 yards) in seven starts with Cousins than they did with nine starts (220 yards) with Michael Penix. Make no mistake though, Cousins is still capable of putting up decent numbers if given the protection, which Atlanta has done a much better job of than in years past.

Atlanta certainly has the weapons for their quarterback. Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Darnell Mooney are a handful for defenses to handle. All three are dealing with knee injuries that limited them in practice this week and has them listed as questionable for Sunday. However, each are expected to play.

Pitts leads Atlanta with 82 receptions and 870 yards. He hasn't always played up to his immense potential, but always presents matchup nightmares for defenses. London has missed five games but still has 64 catches and 841 yards. He's a big-bodied wideout that makes contested catches but can also create in space. Pitts and London have a combined 213 targets, with no wideout or tight end on the roster with more than 35 targets after Mooney's 65. Mooney has caught 29 of those for 423 yards, but presents a big-play threat.

David Sills V is the third wideout, but has just 17 receptions on 35 targets for 180 yards. The real complement as a receiver is running back Bijan Robinson, who this offense basically runs through. Yes, Robinson is a lethal threat as a runner who must be contained. However, he's nearly as dangerous in the passing game whether coming out of the backfield, in motion, or even split out wide. Robinson has 76 receptions on 100 targets for 810 yards, the production of a featured wideout for some teams.

Saints Pass Defense

180.4 yards per game (5th)
64.1% completion percentage
24 touchdowns (14th)
9 interceptions (19th)
40 sacks
75 QB hits

New Orleans has held 11 of their opponents to under 200 passing yards, including five of their last seven to fewer than 160 yards. The Saints have been one of the NFL's stingiest against the pass, especially since the midway part of the year. They've done it with a combination of suffocating coverage and disruptive pressure.

Chase Young has never played better football over his six-year career than now. In only 11 games, Young has 8.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a return touchdown, 13 QB hits, and a team-best 28 pressures. Cameron Jordan hasn't consistently played this well for almost half a decade, showing he still has plenty of high-level football left after 15 seasons. Jordan has a team-high 9.5 sacks, with seven coming in his last seven games, along with 20 pressures and 13 QB hits. The Saints will especially need both Young and Jordan to create havoc from the edge against the Falcons.Defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd will both be sidelined by knee injuries. Shepherd and Bresee have a combined 5.5 sacks, 22 QB hits, and 27 pressures. Without them, the rotation of Chris Rumph, Jonah Williams, John Ridgeway, and Davon Godchaux must produce something. Williams and Rumph have each done a nice job in somewhat limited action, combining for 5 sacks and 9 QB hits.

Expect the Saints to also use their inside linebackers to generate interior pressure on Cousins. Demario Davis remains an elite all-around defender. He's dealing with a calf injury, but if able to play gives the team a sideline-to-sideline playmaker that can be an effective blitzer. If Davis is limited or can't play, then more reps will be available for Pete Werner and rookie Danny Stutsman. Both are physical tacklers, but can be vulnerable in space. Another key factor could be Isaiah Stalbird, who has created all kinds of havoc as a blitzer and was a former collegiate safety.

A very young secondary has had some ups and downs and is coming off their worst outing in several weeks with missed tackles and blown coverages against the Titans. However, they've also routinely clamped down on receivers and have made big plays in key moments. Alontae Taylor is the team's most mercurial defender, capable of momentum turning plays but also costly lapses. Taylor, who will be critical against Kyle Pitts and in the slot, has 2 interceptions and 11 pass breakups and will also be used as a blitzer on the edge.

Safeties Justin Reid and rookie Jonas Sanker will be under the microscope to make plays. Both have struggled in recent weeks in both tackling and coverage angles. Each are also capable of big plays with a combined 3 interceptions, a fumble recovery, and 12 passes broken up.

Young cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and rookie Quincy Riley have arguably been the biggest key to the defense outside of Young. McKinstry has 3 interceptions and 13 passes broken up, both to lead the team. Riley has 1 pick to go along with his 9 pass breakups. Each have shown the upside of a top-tier corner, giving the Saints a tremendously effective coverage duo.

When these teams met in mid-November, Cousins completed 16 of 23 throws for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. Justin Reid returned an interception of Cousins for a touchdown and Stalbird, Young, and Jordan each recorded sacks. However, Mooney had a long touchdown reception and Bijan Robinson took another short pass into a big gain to set up another score.

The Saints must pressure Cousins into mistakes and it's vital that they make their tackles for minimal gains on short throws. Atlanta wants to run to set up their passing attack. New Orleans may need to use extra defenders to slow Robinson, which means the secondary needs to stay disciplined against play-action and pressure needs to disrupt Cousins quickly.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints-Falcons preview: Kyle Pitts, Drake London must finish strong

Read Entire Article