Event of the Day: Atlanta Falcons v New Orleans Saints
Our event of the day is the NFL Week 14 clash between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. New Orleans currently occupy the top spot in the NFC South with a 9-3 record, while their division rivals Atlanta, with a 7-5 record are in the hunt for the wild card round, though a win today could get them right behind the Saints. Atlanta have won the previous two matches against New Orleans, the last being a 38-32 home win in January. The Saints are a real force to be reckoned with this season however, as they currently rank as the 2nd best offense in the league - ranking 3rd in rushing and 3rd in passing. This is a great quarterback match up with two of the best in the league facing-off, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and New Orleans’ Drew Brees. Other names to look out for are Falcons’ wide receiver Julio Jones who has already collected 1,063 yards in receiving this season, while the Saint’s running back Mark Ingram has scored nine touchdowns, while rushing for 922 yards. Considering the high scores in their previous games, the great players on show and the division rivalry, it should be a highly entertaining duel at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NBA clash in Mexico City, where the Brooklyn Nets meet the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The Thunder, with an 11-12 record, are edging towards the playoff zone in the Western Conference after three wins in a row, including a 100-94 home triumph over the Utah Jazz, whilst the Nets are closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference table, and lost their last game at home to the Atlanta Hawks 114-102. This is the first of the two NBA fixtures that Mexico will host this season. In rugby, it is the annual rugby union Varsity match between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge at Twickenham Stadium in London.
In golf, it’s the opening day of the Joburg Open at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club in Johannesburg. In the European Rugby Challenge Cup, Toulouse meet Lyon at the Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse. The quarter-finals start at the snooker UK Championship at York’s Barbican Centre. In the NHL, the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars meet at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. It’s the last round of the UEFA Europa League group stages with decisive matches between FC Copenhagen and Sheriff Tiraspol at the Telia Parken in Copenhagen; as well as Slavia Prague and Astana at Prague’s Eden Arena. There’s also a showdown between Red Star Belgrade and FC Cologne at the Rajko Mitić Stadium in Belgrade; and Zorya Luhansk will take on Athletic Bilbao at the Arena Lviv in Lviv.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by NFL