Falcons facing a rival on the road
NEW ORLEANS — This past week was defined by bad news for the New Orleans Saints, who learned they’ll have to manage for the rest of this season without starting quarterback Jameis Winston and top receiver Michael Thomas.
Yet the Saints (5-2) head into Sunday’s clash with the rival Atlanta Falcons (3-4) in the Superdome trying to move into a tie atop the NFC South. And based on recent history, New Orleans has few reasons to doubt its chances of extending its winning streak to four games.
The Saints have been trying to juggle the roster all season with a slew of injuries to prominent players, as well as a six-game suspension to top defensive tackle David Onyemata.
Thomas, a two-time All-Pro who was trying to come back from offseason ankle surgery, hasn’t played at all. Now they must move forward without Winston at the most important position on the offense, but they have two experienced options in Trevor Siemian, who relieved Winston in last weekend’s triumph over Tampa Bay, and Taysom Hill, who went 3-1 last season while Drew Brees was injured. Hill returned to practice this week after being sidelined nearly a month by a concussion.
Falcons first-year coach Arthur Smith figures the Saints will remain difficult to beat without Winston because of how adaptable they’ve been in recent years. During the previous two seasons, the Saints went 8-1 without Brees and also showed they can win without the prolific passing that defined most of the past decade-and-a-half with Sean Payton as coach.
“They’ve been the standard in this division for the last four years,” Smith said. “They’ve got, to me, one of the more successful coaches in football in the last 20 years.
“They’ve done it a bunch of different ways. They continue to win, and we’ve got a heck of a challenge.”
Payton is 20-8 against Atlanta.
“I’ve always had a respect for Sean and what he does and how he puts his players in position to be successful,” veteran Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “They had a lot of continuity for a long time with Drew there, but he’s done a great job of evolving and doing different things with different guys that he has had.”
On Friday, the Falcons placed wide receiver Calvin Ridley on the nonfootball injury reserve list, which means he will miss at least three games. The move followed Ridley’s announcement via social media last Sunday, when he was a late scratch for a home game, that he needed to step away from football to focus on his mental health.