The Saints jumped on the Lions early in this game and kept the pressure on them to try to keep up.  Drew Brees was outstanding as usual as he completed 26 of 36 passes for 342 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Mark Ingram led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 54 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Darren Sproles pitched in with 4 carries for 28 yards (7.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Robert Meachem (3 rec, 119 yards, TD) and TE Jimmy Graham (8 rec, 89 yards) led the way for the Saints in the passing game last night.  WRs Marques Colston (6 rec, 54 yards) and Lance Moore (2 rec, 23 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Saints in the passing game last night.  The Saints finished up with 100 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 36 passes (72.2%) for 338 yards as they had possession of the ball for 24:54.

The defense stopped the Lions when they had to yesterday, but they gave up a ton of passing yards.  LB Jonathan Vilma led the way for the Saints in this game with 10 tackles.  CBs Jabari Greer (6 tackles) and Tracy Porter (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Saints on D in this game.  The Lions finished up with 87 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 44 passes (70.5%) for 379 yards in this game.  The Saints are now 9-3 on the year.

The New Orleans Saints are hot right now as they have won three games in a row.  They are also 5-0 at the SuperDome this year as they have outscored opposing teams 208-93 so far this year!  The Lions have lost four of their last six games, as they have run into trouble lately.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to come out of the locker room throwing the football.  Drew Brees is going to spread the field and attack the weaknesses of the Lions’ D.  The Lions have a solid secondary as opposing QBs only have a 73.1 QB Rating against them, but that shouldn’t stop Brees as he is electric at home.  The Saints are going to try to get a nice lead and then grind this game out on the ground with Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles’ running.  The Lions are giving up 127.3 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry,so the Saints should have little problem running the ball whenever they decide to in this game.

When the Lions have the ball:  Matt Stafford has been off lately due to his broken right index finger.  The Saints are going to try to put pressure on Stafford to get him to rush the ball.  He has thrown a lot of interceptions lately, due to playing hurt and the Saints hope that continues this weekend.  The Lions have a very solid set of WRs in Calvin Johnson (he’s awesome), Titus Young, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler, so the Saints’ secondary is going to have to be ready for a war.  The Lions have also been getting solid work out of Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris lately in the running game, so the front seven of the Saints are going to get challenged this Sunday Night.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 37, LIONS 24

28-year old RB Darren Sproles might only be 5’6″, but he plays big.  Sproles has played in 11 games for the Saints this year and he has carried the ball 59 times for 402 yards (6.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has caught 62 passes for 476 yards (7.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  Sproles has also returned 26 kickoffs for 697 yards (26.8 avg) and 18 punts for 173 yards (9.6 avg) with 1 TD return.  So Sproles has touched the ball 165 times for 1,748 yards (10.6 yards per touch).  Sproles is averaging 158.9 all-purpose yards for the Saints so far this year.  They hope he keeps up the good work!

The New Orleans Saints destroyed the Giants last night at the SuperDome.  Drew Brees was on his game as he completed 24 of 38 passes for 363 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for an 8 yard TD in this game.  Chase Daniel completed his only pass attempt on a fake punt and it was good for 9 yards.  Mark Ingram had probably his best game of the year last night as he led the way on the ground for the Saints with 80 yards on 13 carries (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg) in this game.  Pierre Thomas also had an outstanding game with 63 yards rushing on 8 carries (7.9 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 3 passes for 47 yards (15.7 avg).  Darren Sproles pitched in with 54 yards rushing on 8 carries (6.8 ypc) and he also added 2 catches for 28 yards (14.0 avg).  TE Jimmy Graham (5 rec, 84 yards) and WR Lance Moore (5 rec, 54 yards) each caught 2 TD passes apiece last night for the Saints.  WRs Marques Colston (3 rec, 78 yards) and Devery Henderson (5 rec, 67 yards) also pitched in for the Saints in the passing game last night.  The Saints finished up with 205 yards rushing on 30 carries (6.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 39 passes (64.1%) for 372 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:32.

The defense played solid until the 4th quarter.  LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar led the way for the Saints on D with 11 tackles last night.  CB Tracy Porter (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and safety Malcolm Jenkins (8 tackles and 1 pass defensed) also had solid games for the Saints last night.  Safety Roman Harper (fumble recovery) and LB Will Herring (interception) also made some big plays for the Saints last night.  The Giants finished up with 73 yards on 22 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 33 of 47 passes (70.2%) for 392 yards.  The Saints are now 8-3 on the season.

The Saints have been awesome in New Orleans where they are 4-0 on the season.  They have outscored opponents by a combined score of 159-69 at home this year.  The Giants have been pretty solid on the road this year, but they are on a two game losing streak heading into this game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to attack the Giants down the field with the pass game early and often this Monday Night.  Drew Brees is going to have to get rid of the ball really quickly on Monday Night as the Giants have 31 sacks already this year as they bring heat from all over the field.  Saints’ receivers will have to get a lot of yards after the catch and they are certainly capable of doing just that.  The Giants are also going to have issues dealing with TE Jimmy Graham’s combination of size and speed.  Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas will give the Saints some balance running the ball if the Giants go all out to stop the pass.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Saints are going to have to blitz a lot in this game and force Eli Manning into making some mistakes.  Manning has been playing at a very high level so far this year and he has a nice set of WRs and TEs to throw to.  The Saints’ secondary are going to have their hands full in trying to cover Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and TE Jake Ballard.  The Saints’ front seven will also had to be ready to deal with RB Brandon Jacobs, as he is a very powerful runner.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 30, GIANTS 24

Drew Brees is turning in another outstanding season for the New Orleans Saints.  Brees has played in 10 games for the Saints so far this year and he has completed 299 of 422 passes (70.9%) for 3,326 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 INTs (101.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards (3.9 ypc) so far this year.  The Saints are averaging 31.3 points and 319.4 yards passing per game so far this year and Brees is the big reason for that.  He is spreading the ball around so well that teams can’t afford to double team any of his receivers without paying for it.

The Saints have placed 28-year old TE David Thomas on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a nasty concussion.  Thomas played in 5 games for the Saints this year and he caught 5 passes for 16 yards (3.2 ypc).  He has now played in 33 games in his first three years with the Saints and he has caught 70 passes for 591 yards (8.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  This is not a big loss to the Saints due to the fast rise of Jimmy Graham.

30-year old DE Will Smith is still playing at a high level for the Saints.  He has played in 8 games for the Saints last year and he has 20 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  Smith has now played in 117 games in his first 8 years with the Saints and he has 386 tackles, 59.5 sacks, 25 tackles for a loss, 19 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 23 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Saints need Smith to keep up the good work the rest of the season.

The Saints got a huge road win yesterday as Falcons’ head coach Mike Smith decided to go for it on 4 and 1 from his own 29-yard line in O.T.  The Saints stopped him and then finished the Falcons off with a 26-yard field goal off the left foot of kicker John Kasay.  Drew Brees was really good yesterday as he completed 30 of 43 passes for 322 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Pierre Thomas led the way for the Saints on the ground in this game with 29 yards rushing on 8 carries (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 9 yards (2.3 avg).  WR Marques Colston (8 rec, 113 yards), TE Jimmy Graham (7 rec, 82 yards, TD) and WR Robert Meachem (2 rec, 69 yards, TD) led the way for the Saints in the passing game.  The Saints finished up with 41 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 43 passes (69.8%) for 322 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:03.

The defense was pretty awful for the Saints yesterday as the Falcons were going up and down the field at will in this game.  Safety Roman Harper led the way for the Saints in this game with 13 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 2 QB hits.  LB Scott Shanle (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and safety Malcolm Jenkins (8 tackles) also pitched in for the Saints on D last night.  The Falcons finished up with 138 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 52 passes (55.8%) for 343 yards.  The Saints now have a 1.5 game lead over the Falcons in the NFC South with a 7-3 record.

The Saints are going to right the ship on the road at Atlanta this weekend.  The Saints are only 2-3 on the road this year, and they have to start playing better away from home, staring this weekend.  The Falcons have won three games in a row in which they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 75-40.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Falcons are giving up 245.3 yards passing per game, so Drew Brees is likely going to have a big game this Sunday, but he’s going to have to protect the football.  Look for Brees to spread the ball around to his WRs (Devery Henderson, Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Robert Meachem), TE (Jimmy Graham) and RBs (Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles) in an effort the spread the Falcons’ defense out.  Then they will hammer at the middle of the D with Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory and Darren Sproles in the running game.

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons are going to try to play power ball initially in this game with Michael Turner pounding away at a Saints’ D that is allowing 139.6 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry.  The Saints need to get after Matt Ryan as the Falcons’ broke out throwing the ball deep last weekend against the Colts.  WR Julio Jones exploded with an awesome game last weekend and he has the spread to challenge the Saints repeatedly deep.  Ryan is very good on the short stuff to TE Tony Gonzalez and WR Roddy White, so the secondary of the Saints are going to need to step up this Sunday.

FALCONS 30, SAINTS 27