The Atlanta Falcons are 3-7 and going nowhere.
The New Orleans Saints are 2-8 and going nowhere.
The longtime rivals meet Sunday in New Orleans with little at stake except trying to avoid last place in the NFC South.
Though the Falcons have a slightly better record than the Saints, things are looking up a little more in New Orleans than they are in Atlanta.
The Falcons have lost five in a row and they placed starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (knee) on injured reserve this week. He will undergo surgery to repair a partially torn ACL and miss the rest of the season.
“We have a lot of mentally tough dudes, sharp guys,” Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris said of the team handling adversity.
Kirk Cousins, whom Atlanta signed to a four-year, $180 million contract two years ago before using the No. 8 pick in the draft on Penix just weeks later, will start under center.
“We’ll tailor the offense around Kirk – all of the things that we’re able to do with him, some of the things that he’s done well in his past, some of the things he’s done well with us,” Morris said. “We’ll listen to Kirk and take his input.”
Cousins, who has started 160 games in his 14-year NFL career, is more experienced than most backup quarterbacks, but he said he still feels “a desperation the first days of OTAs.”
“I’ve just never felt safe in this league,” he said. “I’ve never felt like I’ve had it figured out. I’ve never felt like my job has been earned or deserved. I have to play at a level that would suggest that I belong here.”
Cousins likely won’t have the services of Atlanta’s leading receiver, Drake London (60 catches, 810 receiving yards, six touchdown receptions), because of a knee injury.
Even with the absences, the Falcons offense can be explosive because of the presence of running back Bijan Robinson, who enters Week 12 third in the NFL with 1,289 yards from scrimmage and seventh in the NFL with 783 rushing yards.
The Saints are feeling better after winning at Carolina 17-7 two weeks ago before entering their bye week.
The win was especially encouraging because of the performance of rookie second-round draft choice Tyler Shough in just his second NFL start. Shough completed 19-of-27 passes for 282 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Shough will be making his first start at home, though he did replace Spencer Rattler for the second half of a home loss to Tampa Bay last month before making his first start a week later in Inglewood, Calif., against the Rams.
“It’s a really cool opportunity,” Shough said. “It’s the same process, and I just want to be myself. I have more of a leadership role and there’s a greater sense of urgency in practice. I’m getting more and more comfortable each day and each practice. Any time you get to go play in an NFL game it’s an insane opportunity.”
In addition to Shough’s performance, the victory was also due to a season-best effort from the New Orleans defense, which had three takeaways and allowed season lows in rushing yards (73), passing yards (102) and total yards (175).
“We were really tied together on defense,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore said. “We only had one missed tackle and we forced turnovers. We were assignment-sound and played with great effort.”
In addition to Penix and London, two other Falcons starters missed practice Wednesday — guard Chris Lindstrom (foot) and safety Xavier Watts (illness). Only one Saints starter — tackle Taliese Fuaga (ankle) — missed practice.
Atlanta has an opportunity to tie the regular-season series, which New Orleans leads 56-55.
