Was Falcons’ win over Packers a fluke? Week 4 test vs. Brandon Staley-led Saints defense will tell all

October 1, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Was Falcons’ win over Packers a fluke? Week 4 test vs. Brandon Staley-led Saints defense will tell all appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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The Atlanta Falcons will be one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL to watch in Week 4. Atlanta looked absolutely dreadful during the first two weeks of the season. However, that all changed when QB Michael Penix Jr. returned to the starting lineup on Thursday Night Football.

Atlanta crushed Green Bay on TNF and made it clear that they will not go down without a fight.

But should the takeaway from that game be that the Falcons are a good team? Or that the Packers are a bad team? In reality, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

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Fortunately, the Falcons have an important NFC South matchup on Monday Night Football that should be quite revealing. If the Falcons are the team that some fans think they are, then they should cruise to another win.

Atlanta will learn a lot about themselves after going up against New Orleans and their Brandon Staley-led defense in Week 4.

Will Bijan Robinson, Michael Penix Jr. carve up Saints defense on MNF?

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New Orleans has a good, not great, defensive unit in 2026. They may not be an elite unit, but they should give their division rival everything they can handle. That makes them the perfect unit to reveal just how good the Falcons offense really is in 2026.

It all starts with the running game. The Saints have allowed 128.7 rushing yards per game so far this season. That ranks 27th in the NFL among all defensive units. New Orleans is capable of slowing Bijan down, but they will not stop him from being productive.

The biggest question will be whether or not Bijan can find the same type of explosive runs in Week 4. His 55-yard run early in the game started Atlanta’s scoring streak and got everything on track for the offense.

If the first three games of the season are any indication, Robinson could have a strong performance on MNF.

Meanwhile, this game could be an even bigger test for QB Michael Penix Jr. Was his success in Week 3 a fluke? Or is he really the missing ingredient in Kevin Stefanski’s offense?

The biggest matchup in this game could turn out to be Drake London against Kool-Aid McKinstry. London was Penix’s favorite target in Week 3, logging nine receptions for 194 receiving yards on 10 targets.

Perhaps the best way to learn about Atlanta’s offense would be to see what it looks like if New Orleans erases London from the game plan.

The Falcons should be more worried about slowing down Tyler Shough, Saints offense

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But the defense is not the calling card for this 2026 Saints team. That honor belongs to Tyler Shough and the offense.

The Saints have played every opponent pretty tightly throughout the first three weeks. They’ve kept pace by putting up plenty of points with their offense.

Remember, New Orleans has faced some great teams like Baltimore, Detroit, and Las Vegas. The Saints have not won every game, but they’ve kept the score close in each of those games. At this point, it is safe to assume that New Orleans will score at will against Atlanta.

So what does this have to do with the Falcons’ offense?

Simply put, the Falcons may not have much room to slip up in Week 4. If they fall behind early, they’ll need to starting hitting on all cylinders with their running game. And if that doesn’t work fast enough, Penix and friends better be up to the challenge in the passing game.

It will be exciting to see how Atlanta responds to this difficult challenge in front of a national audience.

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