Week 3 Monday Night Football Betting Preview

Week 3 Monday Night Football Betting Preview

A tight point spread is often daunting for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, who host the Atlanta Falcons in a potential Monday Night Football scoring battle to wrap up Week 3 of the NFL season.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

New Orleans is listed as a three-point favorite on the betting lines, with a total of 53.5, which is the highest of the week.

Week 3 Monday Night Football Betting PreviewThe Saints are 2-3 straight-up and 1-3-1 against the spread in their last five games as a favorite of three or fewer points. New Orleans is 5-0 ATS in their last five NFC South games, and has a good chance of getting RB Mark Ingram going since the Falcons and rookie MLB Deion Jones are allowing 4.6 yards per rushing attempt.

Brees is a future Hall of Famer, and TE Coby Fleener, WR Brandin Cooks, WR Michael Thomas and WR Willie Snead are facing an Atlanta pass defense that was leaky in its first two games.

The Saints defense held up well in their Week 2 matchup against the New York Giants, but there should be concern about its cornerbacks. Both original starters, Delvin Breaux (fibula) and P.J. Williams (concussion), are out with long-term injuries.

The Falcons are 5-15 SU in their last 20 games against the Saints, and 1-8 SU in their last nine games against the NFC. They are also 3-7 SU and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games against their NFC South counterparts.

Quarterback Matt Ryan has been prolific through the first two games, and WR Julio Jones (calf) should be up to full effectiveness by game time. Complementary WR Mohamed Sanu could also benefit from facing a thin secondary.

New Orleans’ run defense is off to an encouraging start after being dismal, but there is potential for Tevin Coleman or Devonta Freeman to break free at some point. The Falcons are just 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games.

The total has gone under in five of the last seven Falcons-Saints games. The total has gone over in the Saints’ last six home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.