New Orleans Saints

NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints are still alive in the NFC South race after beating the Atlanta Falcons 21-18. The Black and Gold improve to 5-9 on the ...

But safety Justin London stripped Falcons wideout Drake London to seal the win. The Black and Gold improve to 5-9 on the season. NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints are still alive in the NFC South race after beating the Atlanta Falcons 21-18.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (89) scores a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during a NFL football game at the Caesars Superdome in ...

Within less than two minutes, the game went from being scoreless to a 14-point hole. Saints quarterback Andy Dalton found tight end Juwan Johnson for a 19-yard ...

[Desmond Ridder](https://www.si.com/nfl/falcons/news/atlanta-falcons-marcus-mariota-understand-benching-desmond-ridder-first-start-arthur-smith) behind the 8-ball, and the third-round pick struggled in his debut. And for the Falcons, the play didn't go their way today. With just over two minutes to go, the Falcons faced a 4th-and-5 at midfield. Despite the struggles, the team had a chance to win the game. Meanwhile, veteran Cordarrelle Patterson also found the end zone and ran for 52 yards on 14 carries. The Bucs and Panthers are in a reachable distance, but the Falcons let one get away today.

The debut of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder did not go as plan, as the offense struggled to move the ball through the air.

Ridder and the offense needed another score, but an unfortunate bounce of the ball derailed a comeback. As the Falcons' ground game surged, the defense stiffened after giving up a second Juwan Johnson touchdown in the third quarter. With a new signal caller, the Falcons hoped for new results. That was until the Falcons' final drive of the first half saw them rely heavily on their ground game. The rookie didn't look settled until the Falcons started to work the quick game, trying to get Ridder easy completions. Inconsistency in the passing game saw Desmond Ridder begin the game with five straight incompletions.

Amazingly, the Saints will go into Christmas weekend with a chance to still make the playoffs. Read on to see the two scenarios it could happen.

Saints](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/editorial-opinion/falcons-saints-nfl-week-15-first-look) [SNN Roundtable: Saints Biggest Disappointment in 2022](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/editorial-opinion/saints-biggest-2022-disappointment) [Saints Announce Their Week 15 Starting Quarterback](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/saint-announce-week-15-starting-quarterback) [Saints Face Rookie QB in Week 15](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/saint-face-desmond-ridder-week-15) [Saints Playoff Scenario-Week 15](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/saints-playoff-scenario-week-15) Week 15](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/editorial-opinion/saints-x-factors-vs-falcons-week-15) [Saints Fantasy Football: Start'em or Sit'em for Week 15](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/fantasy/saints-fantasy-football-startem-or-sitem-for-week-15) [Fantasy Football's Biggest Risks to Start in the Playoffs Therefore, New Orleans must finish a game ahead of Tampa Bay in the standings. Week 15](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/fantasy/biggest-risks-to-start-in-playoffs-week-15) [Saints Must Fluster Falcons Rookie QB for Week 15 Win](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/editorial-opinion/saint-pass-defense-falcons-passing-attack) [Saints Final Injury Report for Week 15](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/news/saints-final-injury-report-week-15-baun-williams) [Saints Passing Game Needs to Provide Spark Against Falcons](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/editorial-opinion/saint-passing-attack-falcons-pass-defense) [Saints Need Dormant Running Game to Awaken Against Falcons](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/editorial-opinion/saints-rushing-game-falcons-run-defense) [The Bayou Blitz Podcast - Falcons vs Saints Preview](https://www.si.com/nfl/saints/podcasts/the-bayou-blitz-podcast-falcons-vs-saints-preview) [First Look: Falcons vs. Firstly, New Orleans needs to take care of business on the field. A four-way or three-way tie would also leave the Saints on the outside looking in. By contrast, the Saints hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta because they swept the Falcons. In this scenario, the Buccaneers and Panthers would wind up 6-11 and Falcons finish no better than 7-10. Tampa Bay must lose all of their last three games (at Arizona, vs. Unbelievably, the New Orleans Saints still have a chance, albeit slim, to qualify for the playoffs as they enter Week 16. While their chances for a wild-card berth are gone, the Saints still harbor hope to pull out the division title with some help. Carolina, and at Atlanta).

Looking at Saturday's New Orleans Saints at Cleveland Browns Week 16 NFL odds, lines and trends. Here's what you need to know.

[CommandersWire](https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/) [ColtsWire](https://coltswire.usatoday.com/) [ChiefsWire](https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/) [ChargersWire](https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/) [CardsWire](https://cardswire.usatoday.com/) [BrownsWire](https://brownswire.usatoday.com/) [BroncosWire](https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/) [BillsWire](https://billswire.usatoday.com/) [BengalsWire](https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/) [BearsWire](https://bearswire.usatoday.com/) Please [gamble responsibly](https://sportsbookwire.usatoday.com/bet-and-wager-101-responsible-gaming-and-gambling/). [Pick’em Challenge](https://dailyticket.usatoday.com/) and win!

The playoff hopes for the New Orleans Saints (+3). Wager $10 on NO. To Beat CLE:$24.00. Lose by less than 3:$19.09. To Lose:$16.06.

See [draftkings.com/sportsbook](https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/featured) for details. [@SaintsCSC](http://twitter.com/saintscsc), “Like” us on Facebook at [Canal Street Chronicles](https://www.facebook.com/CanalStreetChronicles/), and make sure you’re subscribed to our [new YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/saintscsc). As always, you can follow me on Twitter [@ChrisDunnells](http://twitter.com/chrisdunnells). [Atlanta Falcons](https://www.thefalcoholic.com/). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 3.5-point favorites over the Arizona Cardinals this week, and if both results hold true to the odds, the Saints will be eliminated from the playoffs. According to [DraftKings Sportsbook](https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/football/nfl), the Saints are expected to finally be effectively eliminated from postseason contention this week against the Cleveland Browns.

The New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns play on Saturday in a game on the NFL Week 16 schedule. What do the odds say about the game?

Steelers](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/las-vegas-raiders-pittsburgh-steelers-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735343007/) Cowboys](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/philadelphia-eagles-dallas-cowboys-betting-odds-nfl-week-16-game/69735330007/) 49ers](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/washington-commanders-san-francisco-49ers-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735299007/) Titans](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/houston-texans-tennessee-titans-betting-odds-nfl-week-16-game/69735287007/) Patriots](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/cincinnati-bengals-new-england-patriots-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735274007/) Vikings](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/new-york-giants-minnesota-vikings-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735245007/) Chiefs](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/seattle-seahawks-kansas-city-chiefs-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735233007/) Browns](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/new-orleans-saints-cleveland-browns-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735222007/) Bears](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/buffalo-bills-chicago-bears-betting-odds-nfl-week-16-game/69735201007/) Panthers](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/detroit-lions-carolina-panthers-betting-odds-nfl-week-16-game/69735189007/) Ravens](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/atlanta-falcons-baltimore-ravens-betting-odds-nfl-week-16-game/69735170007/) Jets](https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/12/19/jacksonville-jaguars-new-york-jets-betting-odds-nfl-week-16/69735138007/)

The Cleveland weather forecast calls for wind and snow in the upcoming Saints-Browns game on Christmas Eve, with a high of 15 degrees.

The Browns have one of the NFL’s best running backs in Nick Chubb (who is averaging 5.0 yards per carry and 89.4 rushing yards per game this season), and the Saints are asking Alvin Kamara to handle the second-highest average of rushing attempts per game (13.7) of his career. Cleveland welcomed Deshaun Watson into the lineup three weeks ago, but he’s clocking just 189.3 passing yards per game while throwing as many touchdown passes as interceptions (2), taking 6 sacks along the way. We should also expect both teams to lean heavily on their run game.

The New Orleans Saints have a young core the likes of which they haven't seen in years. With Juwan Johnson, Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave playing lights ...

• This DAILY podcast covers the New Orleans Saints all year round whether they're playing on Poydras in the Superdome, marching in to someone else's house, and even all throughout the offseason getting you all you need to know about free agency and the draft. Videos you watch may be added to the TV's watch history and influence TV recommendations.