The New Orleans Saints travel to take on the Atlanta Falcons at noon on Sunday in a game that has major implications in the NFC South title race. This is the place to keep up with the score and live updates.
While neither the Saints are the Falcons are in the mix, The Carolina Panthers need the Falcons to win to give the Panthers a division title, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need the Saints to either win or tie to hand Tampa Bay the NFC South championship.
The Saints need another big performance from rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who will be surrounded mostly with a group of backups at the offensive skill positions. Star wide receiver Chris Olave is sidelined after blood clots were discovered in his lungs.
You can follow below for the latest from Atlanta.
Pregame updates
UPDATED, 11:39 a.m.: The big news out of inactive reports is that Saints backup quarterback Spencer Rattler is OUT with a finger injury, meaning Jake Haener has been elevated to the active roster.
So if Tyler Shough goes down with injury — or if the game state suggests the Saints take him out — it’ll be Haener’s first game action since 2024.
Also inactive for the Saints are Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara, the team’s most well-known skill players who were already ruled out, as well as defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd. So a very much depleted roster for the finale.
On the other side, Kirk Cousins apparently woke up ill but is going to give it a go. Otherwise the Falcons are mostly healthy.
UPDATED, 10:50 a.m.: And so we reach the end. The New Orleans Saints’ 2025 season will finish today, with the calendar flipped to 2026 and playoff contention long in the rearview mirror. But a funny thing happened along the way — the Saints started playing a lot better and seem to have found their quarterback of the future during a four-game winning streak that lasted all of December.
The last chapter of that story will be written in Atlanta against the rival Falcons, who are also eliminated from contention but also are on a winning streak of three games.
And, as noted above, this game does have significant playoff meaning, just not for the teams involved. A Saints victory wins the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their fifth straight NFC South title, while a Falcons win gives the division to the Carolina Panthers in a three-way tie.
There are also draft pick and 2026 schedule implications, and Tyler Shough will make his final Offensive Rookie of the Year case. So plenty to watch for.
