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Falcons put unbeaten home mark on line vs. Saints

Nov 4, 2008 - 6:23 PM NEW ORLEANS (4-4) AT ATLANTA (5-3), 1:00 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- A major factor in the Atlanta Falcons' turnaround this season has been their success at the Georgia Dome.

Rookie Matt Ryan and the surprising Falcons will hope to remain undefeated at home when they take on the rival New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Selected third overall in April's draft, Ryan has led Atlanta to a 3-0 record at home. He has passed for 654 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in those contests.

Overall, Ryan is having an exceptional first season and could be in line for the Rookie of the Year award. The former Boston College standout has thrown for 1,661 yards and nine scores with five picks.

Ryan took his success on the road last week, completing 17-of-22 passes for 220 yards and two TDs in a 24-0 triumph over the Oakland Raiders.

While the Falcons have been capitalizing on their home-field advantage, the Saints' struggles in road games have dropped them to the bottom of the NFC South.

New Orleans hopes a successful trip to London and a bye week can help alleviate its road woes. The Saints have the top-ranked offense in the NFL, but still own an 0-3 record away from the Louisiana Superdome.

The reason for New Orleans' offensive success is no secret. Drew Brees is on pace for more than 5,000 passing yards, despite missing multiple receiving threats throughout the season.

Brees' top two wide receivers (Marques Colston and David Patten), starting tight end (Jeremy Shockey) and best receiving threat out of the backfield (Reggie Bush) have all missed time with injuries.

It has not slowed down Brees, who is completing over 69 percent of his passes for an NFL-best 2,563 yards and 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Brees helped the Saints defeat his former team at Wembley Stadium in London, which was actually a home game for New Orleans. Brees passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns during the 37-32 win over the San Diego Chargers.