Sunday Night Football in Week 4 of the NFL season will give fans a great matchup in the Georgia Dome, with the New England Patriots taking on the Atlanta Falcons. This is the 8:30 pm ET kickoff on Sunday, September 29th, with coverage on NBC.
- When:
Sun., Sept. 29th, 2013 @ 8:30pm ET
- Where:
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
- Who’s Favored?
Falcons by 2 ~ 49.5 o/u @ BetOnline
- More Info:
The Patriots sit at 3-0, but it could be perceived as a weak 3-0 start because of the competition that they have played. Wins over the Bills, Buccaneers, and Jets haven’t exactly caused any heads to turn. In short, New England is right where they should be at this point.
What is a bit of a surprise is that Atlanta is just 1-2 on the season. They are 0-2 on the road, losing to New Orleans in Week 1 and Miami last week. The Falcons controlled a double-digit lead in the second half but failed to close. It’s a routine that is becoming all too familiar with this team. The ability to close out a game that they should have won have been a bit of a problem in the Mike Smith era.
If the Falcons lose to New England, that would equal their entire loss column in 2012. This is a very big game for the Falcons, as they do not want to fall to 1-3.
Injuries can play a key role here for both teams. The Patriots are keeping tight lipped about the status of tight end Rob Gronkowski. He is thought to be ready to go against Atlanta on Sunday night but that remains to be seen.
For Atlanta, they will be without running back Steven Jackson once again, as well as several key defensive players like Sean Weatherspoon who is out for quite some time. Receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White aren’t 100 percent either.
The Falcons need to get healthy, but they need this win more. Atlanta will need to exert their home-field advantage, as quarterback Matt Ryan is great in the Georgia Dome.