Thanksgiving is winding down and what better way to end it than watching one of the most underrated rivalries in all of sports? The final football game of Thanksgiving will feature the New Orleans Saints facing the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will air on NBC at 8:20 p.m. ET and it can also be seen on the NFL app. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will have the call.
In the last meeting between the two teams, the Falcons beat the Saints convincingly 26-9. It was considered one biggest upset in the NFL this year because the Falcons were 1-7 and the Saints were 7-1. The Falcons have had a ton of issues this year and it’s very likely head coach Dan Quinn could be let go once the season ends. However, they will be ready to take on the Saints once again because they know how much a win would mean for Falcons fans.
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One thing to watch for is Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan as he’s on the verge of making NFL history. He only needs 346 yards to reach 50,000 passing yards in his career which would make him the 10th player in NFL history to reach that mark.
“To be able to hopefully get to 50,000 yards is something that, playing at Penn Charter when I was in high school running the triple-option and throwing the ball six times a game, did not seem realistic,” Ryan said according to ESPN. “So to kind of be in this position now, it goes so fast. It would be very special for me, personally.
“Anytime you’re on a list with those other guys, that’s pretty cool. You have images of [some] of those guys in your head from when you were a kid, and that’s who you grew up idolizing.”
As for the Saints, they only need to win one more game to clinch the NFC South and host at least one playoff game. After the loss to the Falcons earlier in the month, the Saints have won the last two games and enter tonight’s game with a 9-2 record. Quarterback Drew Brees missed five games due to an injured thumb, but he’s back and 100 percent healthy.
While Ryan is looking to make history, Brees recently made history as the first player to reach 75,000 career passing yards. So we should be in for a very entertaining game to end Thanksgiving.
