Monday Night Football predictions on ESPN will feature the NFC South Division rivalry match-up of the New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons with kick-off set for 8:40pm EST. Online sportsbooks have opened with Atlanta as 2.5-point favorite in NFL odds vs New Orleans with an over under/betting total of 49.5. Atlanta enters this showdown with a 2-game lead over the Saints in the division but if the Saints win tonight and then next week; and the Falcons lose their next game, New Orleans can still end up in first place and with an opening round bye in the playoffs.

The Falcons won the first meeting between the teams this year 27-24 in overtime as 3-point road underdogs in NFL odds as the game went OVER the total of 49.5. The Falcons are 12-2 straight up and 10-4 against the spread heading into week 16 Monday night football predictions with just 4 of their games going UNDER the total. Atlanta is riding an 8-game winning streak and is coming off a 34-18 win at Seattle for their 6th consecutive payout vs the NFL odds. The Falcons are a well balanced team that ranks 5th in the NFL for both scoring offense and scoring defense. Matt Ryan has a 90.5 QB rating with a 25/9 TD/INT ratio and 3,321 yards in the air.

The Falcons running back tandem of Michael Turner who has 1,256 rushing yards with 11 TD’s and Roddy White has 1,284 receiving yards with 8 TD’s is just simply over-powering most teams this season. New Orleans has a record of 10-4 straight up and 6-8 against the spread heading into Monday night football predictions as their status as defending Super Bowl champions has diminished their betting value. The Saints have gone OVER the total 8 times and rank 7th in the NFL for scoring and 6th for points allowed. New Orleans lost at Baltimore last week 30-24 as 1-point underdogs in NFL odds to snap a 6 game winning streak. Drew Brees has 4,122 yards passing and Marques Colston leads the receivers with 1,002 yards.

Monday Night Football Predictions: New Orleans Saints +2.5