Football is coming.
Full Schedule ➡️https://t.co/vNuHMKwxTs
We may be months away from the season, but the Falcons wasted no time trolling the Saints once the schedule was released. New Orleans’ season ended on a controversial non-call that the NFL later admitted should have been pass interference against the Rams. Instead, the Saints would lose to the Rams in overtime after their red zone attempt for a touchdown was thwarted.
The above video shows the Falcons opponents each week, but when it gets to Week 10 a ram charges into a jazz band that represented the Saints as a referee pops out to call an incomplete pass. The Falcons also take on the Saints on Thanksgiving evening on NBC. It is a rematch of last year’s game when the Saints got the last laugh with a blowout victory.
According to AtlantaFalcons.com, this marks the fourth time the Falcons play on Thanksgiving, but Atlanta is just 1-2 in their previous matchups.
This marks the second consecutive year the Falcons and Saints have squared off on Thanksgiving night. In 2018, Atlanta was defeated 31-17. The Falcons still lead the all-time series against the Saints, 52-48.
Atlanta has only hosted the Thanksgiving game one other time, that being in 2007 when the Indianapolis Colts came to town and defeated the Falcons, 31-13.
The will be the fourth time the Falcons have played on Thanksgiving and they are 1-2 in Turkey Day games.
The Saints Play Against the Rams Was Called Buckhead
There is a bit of a tie-in to Atlanta for the infamous non-call. Saints quarterback Drew Brees noted that the play was called Buckhead, which is a popular Atlanta neighborhood. It also happens to be where the Rams stayed during the Super Bowl as 12up.com detailed.
How about that for ironic situations? Considering the helmet-to-helmet nature of Nickell Robey-Coleman’s hit on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis, I’m not sure “Buckhead” could describe the situation any better than if it had been deliberately planned by someone.
However, it gets even better when you realize that the area of Atlanta where the Rams are staying is called Buckhead. As if the situation couldn’t get any worse for Saints fans, they are still being reminded of the missed call nearly two weeks after the game.
Saints coach Sean Payton advocated for a change in the instant replay rules after the missed call.
“We all want to get it right, right? We’ve got the technology where we can… We’ve got plenty of technology to speed things up, and look, I’m on the competition committee so hopefully that provides a voice,” Payton said, per NFL.com. “But I hope no other team has to lose a game the way we lost that one today though. We were in a position, like I said, to be right on there on the 10-yard line, whatever-yard line, and be on our knee for three plays. It’s disappointing.”