# Saints vs Falcons prediction: what pundits picked Week 17, 2026: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons Jan 3, 2027 · not played yet · 0 calls on record No pundit we track has picked a side in Saints vs Falcons yet. Page: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-17-saints-at-falcons ## How they come in The Saints are 3-5; the Falcons are 3-6 and have lost 2 straight. The Falcons beat the Saints 45-24 when they met in Week 4. On win totals, 15 pundits put the Saints at 8.4 wins on average, and 9 pundits put the Falcons at 6.1 wins on average. Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia - New Orleans Saints: 3-5 (185 scored, 216 allowed) - Last games: W 23-22 vs Browns; L 10-16 vs Steelers; W 34-27 at Giants - Unit ranks this season: offense 23rd, defense 24th of 32 - Last season: 6-11 - Win-total calls: 15 pundits, average 8.4, 2 to 11 wins - The side most pundits took won 5 of 8 Saints games - Atlanta Falcons: 3-6, lost 2 straight (188 scored, 223 allowed) - Last games: L 17-34 vs Bengals; L 0-16 at Buccaneers; W 29-20 vs 49ers - Unit ranks this season: offense 20th, defense 20th of 32 - Last season: 8-9 - Win-total calls: 9 pundits, average 6.1, 2 to 9 wins - The side most pundits took won 5 of 9 Falcons games ## Players to watch Each club's starting quarterback, leading rusher, receiver and tight end, and its sack and tackle leaders, with their 2026 regular season so far, with the latest call on each from a pundit ranked on the leaderboard whose record beats the naive pick, made since the 2026 schedule came out ("No." is that rank). Leaderboard: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/leaderboard - [Tyler Shough](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tyler-shough) (Starting QB, QB): 1,986 passing yards · 14 TD, 6 INT · 66.2% completions · 162 rushing yards · 8 games; 13th in the NFL in passing yards - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 3, 2026: Tyler Shough to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 26, 2026: I've got him at QB. I kind of go back and forth somewhere in the QB 10 to 12 range (rest of season) (not settled yet) - [Alvin Kamara](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/alvin-kamara) (RB1, RB): 157 rushing yards on 47 carries · 3 TD · 25 catches for 150 · 7 games; 65th in the NFL in rushing yards - No. 20 Jake Ciely, Jul 20, 2026: Alvin Kamara to outplay his draft cost (round thirteen) (not settled yet) - No. 21 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Alvin Kamara to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100) - [Chris Olave](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chris-olave) (WR1, WR): 56 catches for 734 yards · 2 TD · 8 games; 6th in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 1, 2026: Chris Olave to outplay his draft cost (wide receiver 12 price tag) (not settled yet) - No. 21 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Chris Olave to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100) - [Juwan Johnson](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/juwan-johnson) (TE1, TE): 28 catches for 289 yards · 4 TD · 8 games; 73rd in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 21 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Juwan Johnson to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100) - No. 30 Andrew Erickson, Aug 29, 2026: Juwan Johnson to outplay his draft cost (Late-round only) (not settled yet) - [Chase Young](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chase-young) (Sack leader, DE): 8 sacks · 9 solo tackles · 8 games; 2nd in the NFL in sacks - No. 21 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Chase Young to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100) - [Jonas Sanker](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jonas-sanker) (Tackle leader, S): 31 solo tackles · 8 games; 45th in the NFL in solo tackles - No. 21 Ross Jackson, Aug 28, 2026: Jonas Sanker to make the roster (scored 100 out of 100) - No. 24 Rich Hribar, Sep 8, 2026: Jonas Sanker to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Michael Penix Jr.](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/michael-penix-jr) (Starting QB, QB): 1,444 passing yards · 10 TD, 6 INT · 62.3% completions · 7 games; 26th in the NFL in passing yards - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 21, 2026: Michael Penix Jr. to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - No. 10 Shanna McCarriston, Sep 10, 2026: Michael Penix Jr. to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Bijan Robinson](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bijan-robinson) (RB1, RB): 880 rushing yards on 169 carries · 6 TD · 31 catches for 250 · 9 games; 1st in the NFL in rushing yards - No. 4 Bryan DeArdo, Oct 10, 2026: Bijan Robinson to record 1,361 rushing yards (not settled yet) - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 7, 2026: Bijan Robinson to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points (not settled yet) - [Drake London](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/drake-london) (WR1, WR): 44 catches for 692 yards · 1 TD · 9 games; 8th in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 12 Derek Brown, Sep 26, 2026: He's wide receiver one. Where you want to put him in wide receiver one is fine by me. (not settled yet) - No. 30 Andrew Erickson, Sep 16, 2026: Drake London to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Kyle Pitts](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kyle-pitts) (TE1, TE): 25 catches for 220 yards · 4 TD · 9 games; 113th in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 8 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 5, 2026: Kyle Pitts to be 2nd on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Za'Darius Smith](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/za-darius-smith) (Sack leader, DE): 4.5 sacks · 6 solo tackles · 6 games; 22nd in the NFL in sacks - [Kendal Daniels](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kendal-daniels) (Tackle leader, LB): 1 sack · 40 solo tackles · 1 interception · 9 games; 8th in the NFL in solo tackles --- The room is counted in pundits, each one's latest call standing. Accuracy is out of 100; the naive pick is the home team. The week: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-17 Method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology