With an Atlanta Falcons Week 9 game scheduled against the New Orleans Saints, the texture of the NFC South will change to some degree. Here are some Falcons-Saints predictions for Atlanta.

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Atlanta Falcons Week 9 Predictions

4. Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan will throw for over 280 yards

The Falcons obviously have a decent chance at pulling off an upset in this game, given the injury to Jameis Winston. Let's be clear about this point, too: It's not as though Jameis Winston would have somehow made the Saints a lock to win. He wouldn't. Winston does commit turnovers, and he is a very erratic quarterback.

However, Winston does have considerable playmaking ability. He raises the ceiling for the Saints and their offense with his home-run passing and improvisational scrambling. When at his best, Winston is dangerous. Siemian lowers the ceiling for New Orleans, but he doesn't necessarily lower the floor.

Given the circumstances facing the Falcons in Week 9, Matt Ryan will need to solve the Saints' quality defense. He and Arthur Smith will very likely choose to attack through the air, even with Calvin Ridley out of the lineup. The Saints are not an easy team to run against. Ryan should collect a lot of passing yards, but the worry is that they will come within a context of offensive imbalance (and trailing on the scoreboard, therefore necessitating a lot of passing).

3. Falcons will get two takeaways from the Saints' offense

The Saints will give Atlanta some chances to make this game competitive. Siemian is likely to make a big mistake at some point. Beyond that, New Orleans has not been the picture of efficiency on a regular basis this season. New Orleans can be very good, but it hasn't been relentlessly good in 2021. The Falcons will pounce on chances to take the ball away in Week 9.

2. Falcons will have five possessions inside Saints' 30, but will score just one touchdown

The most important category in this game other than turnover differential is red-zone performance. The Falcons have fallen short in the past against the Saints because of how they do in the red zone or, more broadly, when they get into scoring range. It has been hard for them to crack the New Orleans defense when the field shrinks. Moving the ball between the 30s won't be the Herculean task awaiting Matt Ryan and Arthur Smith in this game. Moving the ball inside the 30, especially the 20, will be the true challenge.

One has to admit the Saints deserve the benefit of the doubt here, though if the Falcons can upend the conventional wisdom, their chances of winning will soar.

1. Atlanta Falcons will lose to the New Orleans Saints in Week 9

While the Falcons certainly have a decent chance of winning this game outright, and while celebrating the Atlanta Braves' World Series championship might give the Dirty Birds an extra shot of adrenaline in Week 9, the bottom-line reality is that the Saints have a high-level defense which has generally kept them in the upper tier of the NFC despite all their high-profile injuries and changes on offense.

The Saints' defense deserves to be viewed as the best unit on the field. The Falcons have to overcome it, and the chances are that they won't in Week 9.