With Thursday right around the corner, the Falcons are salivating at the thought of having another meeting with the New Orleans Saints. Clearly, this will be a short week for both teams and each respective team can feel the pressure surmounting as Thursday night’s prime-time matchup looms on the horizon.

The Saints delivered the Falcons their first and only loss of the season and with the heated rivalry between these two teams the Falcons are ready for redemption. Fueling the Falcons fire and desire for victory is the fact that an Atlanta victory on Thursday would put the nail in the coffin for any hope that the Saints could battle back for the division title. It would also really make the Saints getting the wild-card a huge difficulty.

Since 2006, the Saints have dominated this rivalry 11-2 and in fact, the Saints have relished in the glory of victory more against the Falcons than any other division opponent. So how are the Falcons going to prevail when history doesn’t bode well for Thursday’s game?

The Falcons lead the league with their 10-1 record this season and despise this opponent. Even more, they despise the aftermath of a loss to the Saints. It stings just a bit more than losing to any other team. This Thursday, they won’t be concerned about the pressure to defend their undefeated record that they were clinging onto the last time they faced the Saints. Atlanta has one thing in mind and one thing only: Beat the saints to prove they can beat the Saints.

The Falcons are ready to beat the holy hell out of these Saints, cast darkness on any glimmer of hope the Saints have left for a division title, and seek redemption on their only loss this season.