<Li> In the 2011 season, both teams met again for a Monday Night Football matchup . Like the previous season, playoff implications were at stake for both teams, however, in a near - inverse of the 2010 meeting, New Orleans, entered Week 16 with an 11 - 3 record with a playoff berth already clinched, were in better position to win the NFC South division title, and needed a win in one of their final two games or an Atlanta loss in one of their final two games to clinch the division title, while Atlanta, entering Week 16 with a 9 - 5 record, needed to win out as well as for New Orleans to lose against Carolina in Week 17 to repeat as NFC South champions . A major historical aspect of this game was Saint Drew Brees' pursuit of Dan Marino's single season record for passing yards, 5084, set in 1984 . Entering the game with 4780 yards, Brees needed only 305 in his final two games to obtain the record . Atlanta received the opening kickoff and quickly jumped out to a 3 - 0 lead but the Saints immediately responded with an 84 - yard touchdown drive sparked by Brees' 38 - yard completion to Lance Moore on the drive's first play . Brees would end the first quarter with 66 yards . By halftime, Brees was within 75 yards of the record with 230 yards in the first half, thanks in large part to the 164 yards he notched in the second quarter, which lifted the Saints to a 21 - 10 lead . Despite only having 45 yards in the third quarter, Brees managed to help the Saints extend their lead to 31 - 13 and he entered the fourth quarter 30 yards shy of Marino's record . The fourth quarter was somewhat atypical of how the Saints had played during the first three quarters in that they punted for the first time in the game and were held to a three - and - out for the third straight possession dating back to the third quarter when they had to settle for a field goal after failing to get a first down following Darren Sproles' 92 - yard kickoff return which set them up with excellent field position at the Atlanta 14 - yard line . Continuing the breaking of trends was the Saints' defense, which came into the game having forced the fewest turnovers of any defense in the league . That improved when linebacker Scott Shanle stripped the football from Falcons' wide receiver Julio Jones at the Falcons' 35 - yard line and Saints' free safety Malcolm Jenkins grabbed the ball bouncing off the turf in stride and ran 30 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, extending the lead to 38 - 16 . With zero completions or yards through the Saints' first two fourth - quarter possessions, it appeared uncertain if Brees would be able to get the record in front of a national audience in prime time but after the Saints' defense succeeded in stopping the Falcons on fourth down for the second straight possession and having taken over at the Falcons' 32 - yard line with Brees needing just 30 for the record, the stage was set for history . On the ensuing drive, Brees completed a 12 - yard pass to Marques Colston and an 11 - yarder to Devery Henderson, coming to within 7 yards of the record . After an incomplete pass on first and goal from the Falcons' 9 - yard line, Brees connected with running back Darren Sproles at the 1 - yard line by the left hash mark and he carried it into the end zone, completing the quest for the record with Brees at 5087 yards through 15 games and capping off the scoring for the game with the Saints winning 45--16 and clinching the NFC South division title, their third since Sean Payton became head coach in 2006 and fifth in franchise history . Brees ended the night completing 23 of his 39 passing attempts for 307 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions; it was also his 12th game of the season with at least 300 yards passing, an NFL record . </Li> <Li> In 2012, the Saints struggled through a down year after incurring heavy league penalties from their bounty scandal, but the Saints still managed to hand the Falcons their first loss of the season, 31--27 at the Superdome in week 10 . Three weeks later, airport workers in Atlanta egged the Saints' charter bus when the Saints arrived in Atlanta for their game against the Falcons . Drew Brees threw 5 interceptions and his record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass was snapped as the Falcons controlled the rematch 23 - 13 . (The Falcons went on to earn the top seed in the NFC for the second time in three years .) </Li> <Li> In 2013, the teams met in a highly promoted opening - week match - up . The Saints held off a last - second Atlanta drive to win 23--17, then went on to win their first five games while the Falcons, hampered by injuries, unexpectedly suffered through a loss - filled campaign . In the rematch, a Thursday night prime - time game, the Saints again held on to win another narrow victory, 17--13, marked by Brees moving past Warren Moon into fifth place on the all - time career passing list . </Li> <Li> The January 1, 2017 matchup was the final regular season NFL game played in the Georgia Dome . In the Falcons' 38--32 victory over the Saints, Atlanta clinched the second seed in the playoffs . After the Falcons defeated the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers defeating the top - seeded Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round, the 2016 NFC Championship Game between the Falcons and Packers was the final overall NFL game played in the Georgia Dome, where the Falcons defeated the Packers to secure their second all - time Super Bowl appearance . </Li>

Who is going to win saints or falcons