The New Orleans Saints will find themselves playing the unwanted role of spoiler when the high-flying Atlanta Falcons swoop into the Superdome this Sunday for a matchup that could go a long way towards realizing the up-and-coming team's playoff aspirations.

New Orleans' postseason dreams have all but vanished following last weekend's hard-fought 23-20 loss to fellow NFC South member Tampa Bay. Now two games behind the Falcons and Dallas for the conference's second Wild Card spot with four to play, pride and the opportunity to avenge a 34-20 defeat to Atlanta at the Georgia Dome last month are now the 6-6 Saints' only motivating factors for Sunday's tilt.

While New Orleans appears headed for an early end to its 2008 campaign, the Falcons continue to open eyes with their amazing turnaround under rookie head coach Mike Smith. Just one year removed from a calamitous four-win season, Atlanta has emerged as a serious playoff contender by winning four of its last five games to improve to 8-4 entering the December stretch run.

The Falcons solidified their standing with a 22-16 road decision over dysfunctional San Diego in Week 13. First-year quarterback Matt Ryan strengthened his case for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors by throwing two touchdown passes in a turnover-free display, while a rapidly improving defense limited the Chargers to 201 total yards and smothered former league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson at the line of scrimmage.

The win gives the youthful Falcons a jolt of confidence as they begin a challenging three-game stretch that will likely determine the team's postseason fate. After facing the Saints' league-leading offense on Sunday, Atlanta will host NFC South co-leader Tampa Bay in Week 15 before a road test against current NFC North front-runner Minnesota.

Standing in the Falcons' way this week will be a New Orleans squad that has won four of its five outings at the Superdome this season and is averaging better than 33 points per game at home. The Saints also boast one of the NFL's most deadly quarterbacks in Drew Brees, who's closing in on a third straight year with over 4,000 passing yards and piled up a season-best 422 yards through the air against Atlanta in November, although he was intercepted three times in the loss.

Brees will have to shake off one of his worst days of the year, however. The standout signal-caller also threw three picks in last week's costly setback to the Buccaneers, two of which came in the game's final 2 1/2 minutes, and finished with a season-low 60.2 passer rating.

SERIES HISTORY

Atlanta leads the all-time regular season series with New Orleans, 44-34, including a 34-20 win when the teams met at the Georgia Dome in Week 10. The Saints swept home-and-homes against their NFC South rival in both 2006 and 2007, including a 22-16 home win in Week 7 of last season. The Falcons are 0-2 in series road games since beating New Orleans in San Antonio in 2005, and are 0-4 in New Orleans since last winning there in 2002.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have faced off once in the postseason, with Atlanta winning a 27-20 road affair in a 1991 NFC First-Round Playoff.

Saints head coach Sean Payton is 4-1 against the Falcons as a head coach, while Smith is 1-0 against both Payton and the Saints as a head coach.

WHEN THE FALCONS HAVE THE BALL

Atlanta's offensive game plan hasn't changed since the season's outset, as the coaching staff has put its faith in powerful running back Michael Turner (1208 rushing yards, 13 TD, 4 receptions) and an unheralded offensive line that consistently controls the line of scrimmage. The results have been hard to argue with, since the Falcons boast the NFL's second-best ground attack (150.7 ypg) and have worn down the opposition game after game. Turner, the league's leader in carries and rushing touchdowns, backed up a 117-yard, four-score effort against rival Carolina in Week 12 with 121 yards on a career-best 31 attempts to key last Sunday's win over San Diego. Atlanta is 6-0 when the offseason acquisition eclipses the century mark this season. Backup Jerious Norwood (412 rushing yards, 27 receptions, 3 total TD) is a highly-dangerous open-field runner, as the Saints found out when the speedster took a short Ryan pass 67 yards for a touchdown in the teams' earlier meeting.

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