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Loss to Falcons Sends Saints’ Super Bowl Odds from +467 to +650

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Apr 1, 2020 · 11:32 AM PDT

Drew Brees
Sunday's shocking 26-9 upset loss to the Atlanta Falcons saw the Super Bowl odds of the New Orleans Saints fade from +467 to +650. Photo by Keith Allison (flickr) [CC License].
  • The New Orleans Saints were upset 26-9 Sunday by the woeful 2-7 Atlanta Falcons
  • New Orleans slipped to +650 in Super Bowl 54 odds
  • The Saints owned average Super Bowl odds of +467 entering the weekend

When assessing the pitiful performance of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, it’s difficult to know where to start.

The conversation could begin with the six sacks the offensive line surrendered during a 26-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Then talk could switch to the 12 penalties that were assessed to the Saints.

Moving on, there was the 3-for-12 performance on third-down conversions and 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversions. New Orleans was also 0-for-3 in the red zone and on goal-to-go plays.

Super Bowl 54 Odds

Team Odds
New England Patriots +250
San Francisco 49ers +550
New Orleans Saints +650
Baltimore Ravens +800
Green Bay Packers +1000
Kansas City Chiefs +1200
Philadelphia Eagles +1400
Seattle Seahawks +1600
Dallas Cowboys +2000
Minnesota Vikings +2000

Odds taken on November 11, 2019. 

This isn’t supposed to happen when 7-1 plays 1-7. It was a stunning end to New Orleans’ six-game winning streak, and the sad state of affairs also caused the Saints’ Super Bowl odds to take a hit.

The Saints  are listed at +650 to win Super Bowl 54. New Orleans is no longer the top NFC team in this betting line. The Saints relinquished that title to the 8-0 San Francisco 49ers (+550).

Prior to the loss to Atlanta, New Orleans was at average Super Bowl odds of +467.

Saints Handed an Epic Beatdown

New Orleans took the field Sunday as 14-point favorites. Two weeks previously, the Saints had won and covered as the 12.5 chalk in a 31-9 rout of the Arizona Cardinals. The last time they played the Falcons, the Saints also won and covered as 12.5-point favorites in a 31-17 victory.

Every analytic suggested that the Saints would just keep marching onward. However, this is a team with a habit of throwing in a clunker against a bad team at least once every season. Remember last year’s 48-40 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when New Orleans was the 10-point betting choice?

This setback, though, was epic. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was only the fourth team in NFL history that a team riding a six-game winning streak lost to a team enduring a six-game losing streak.

A team with a record of 7-1 or better hadn’t lost to a team with a record of 1-7 or worse since 2003.

The Saints are the heaviest favorite to lose a game in the NFL so far this season.

What to Make of New Orleans?

Was it an off-week, or should you be turned off by the Saints?

Coaches like to talk about small sample sizes. Last season, en route to a Super Bowl 53 triumph, the New England Patriots opened 1-2. They lost to the Detroit Lions.

Taking into account the big picture, there’s still plenty to like about New Orleans. Against the other 11 teams that would be in the NFL playoffs if the season ended today, the Saints are 3-0. They’ve beaten the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans.

They get a crack at the unbeaten 49ers in Week 14.

Not that there aren’t issues to address. Atlanta owned seven QB sacks through eight games. Sunday, the Falcons treated Saints QB Drew Brees like a pinata, adding 11 QB hits to the six sacks.

Sunday was the first time in 110 home games that New Orleans didn’t score double digits. The Saints need to kick it into gear a bit quicker. Through nine games, they’ve scored 25 first-quarter points.

Still, one game doesn’t turn the Saints into ain’ts.

If you’re planning to bet them, do it now.

Pick: New Orleans Saints (+650)

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