The Sunday Night Football game in the NFL tonight will see the New England Patriots travel to take on the Atlanta Falcons. The game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on NBC. Currently the odds for the game have Atlanta favored at home.
The Patriots have covered in 14 of their last 21 road games overall. Atlanta stumbles into this game with a 1-2 record while New England still hasn't gotten beat. This is certainly one of those games where the home team is in need of a victory and the oddsmakers seem to agree. The Falcons are favored by just a point at most places and up to only a few points at other places.
But Atlanta has been solid in the Georgia Dome. Under Mike Smith the Falcons are 34-7 in home games.
New England's defense has been the reason they haven't gotten farther in the post season in recent seasons but this year they are playing well. The Patriots are surrendering just 11.3 points per game to opponents. The Patriots do have three solid victories in close games, but they came against inexperienced quarterbacks for the most part.
Matt Ryan will look to continue his great play in the Dome. He's going to be the best quarterback the Patriots have seen to this point in the season. But the offensive line is a bit banged up and these are the types of games that the Patriots win.
Miami is tied with New England atop the standings, which is something the Patriots aren't used to seeing. The Dolphins will obviously have a tough time winning at New Orleans this week, but New England will look to get a win here this week and get back into first place by themselves.
The Falcon defense isn't great and Tom Brady will look to pick them apart.
It's hard to back Atlanta in this one, especially with their offense, which has been a bit irregular this season. Roddy White and Steven Jackson are both banged up and both play a major role in their system.
New England's defense is better than most people think and they'll be a big part of this game. Look for them to pressure Ryan in the backfield and cause havoc. We like the Patriots to get it done on the road, playing in a dome, in a game on national television where they will move to 4-0.
Free Pick: New England 28, Atlanta 17
NFL Free Picks: New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons Betting
What pro football bettors need to know betting New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons on Sunday (9/29/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Ken Thomson, with host Marco D'Angelo.
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