This is big: the New Orleans Saints will open up the 2022 season playing on the road against their oldest rivals, visiting the Atlanta Falcons for a matchup at Atlanta United FC’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The popular soccer venue also hosts Falcons games in front of sparse crowds eight or nine times a year, but it’s always a fun time when the Saints are visiting with a raucous group of fans in black and gold traveling to support them.
NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported news of the Saints-Falcons season opener. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 11 at noon CT/1 p.m. ET.
And this is a great opportunity for the Saints to come closer to tying up their all-time series history with the Falcons. Atlanta leads 54-52-0 in games with New Orleans dating back to 1967; a win here would get them halfway towards a season sweep, and that would tie things up at 54-54.
But it hinges on Jameis Winston defeating new Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota (replacing Matt Ryan) head-to-head, which is something he’s never managed to do in college or the NFL. Either way, it should make for a highly entertaining contest, and with the Saints angling for a return to the playoffs in 2022 they’ll be feeling a lot of pressure to start the season with a win. Can we hurry up and get there already?
