The Falcons will be able to do several things with a win over the Saints next Sunday. They’ll beat their loathsome rival, give Arthur Smith his first win in a season opener, and quiet some of the doubt around this team’s viability as a contender in 2022.
Beating the Saints is obviously the biggest and most important piece here, but there’s another reason it’s a big deal: It has a chance to be Atlanta’s first season-opening win since 2017, when they squeaked by the Bears to move to 1-0.
That was also the last year the Falcons were undefeated to start the season, as well as their last winning season overall.