Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints 2017: Prediction, Betting Odds For NFL Week 17

The Atlanta Falcons are one step away from securing the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. All they have to do is defeat the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s regular-season finale.

Atlanta clinched the NFC South title last week with their 10th win of the season, defeating the Carolina Panthers. With already eight losses on the year, New Orleans is out of contention, and their season is guaranteed to end in Week 17.

The divisional matchup will almost certainly be a shootout. They are the two highest-scoring teams in the league, and neither team has a particularly good defense. The over/under of 56.6 is the highest on the week’s schedule.

Neither team has much trouble scoring, but Atlanta has been the better team all year. That’s why they are seven-point favorites at home, and it’s the reason they should head into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak.

New Orleans’ offense has been very good, averaging 29.1 points per game, but Atlanta’s offense is in a class of its own. The Falcons score 33.5 points per contest, which ranks eighth all time. They’ve been held to fewer than 24 points just once in 2016, in large part because of their MVP candidate at quarterback.

No quarterback that’s started every game this year has been better than Matt Ryan this season. Leading the league with a 115.5 passer rating, he’s thrown at least two touchdown passes in 11 games and posted a passer rating of 90.0 just twice.

Ryan has even played well against elite defenses, putting up big numbers against the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. He shouldn’t have any trouble moving the ball against New Orleans, who’s been able to stop very few teams this season. Only two teams have surrendered more points than the Saints, and they are 0-6 when scoring 23 points or fewer.

Atlanta is 25th in scoring defense, but the unit has played better down the stretch. The Falcons haven’t given up more than 16 points in the last three games, and only one of their opponents since Nov. 13 has even scored 20 points.

The Saints already lost to the Falcons 45-32 earlier in the season. With nothing to play for, it wouldn’t be surprising to see New Orleans fold if they find themselves in an early hole.

Prediction: Atlanta over New Orleans, 42-24