With their eye on a bye throughout the playoffs, possibly home-field advantage during the post-season, within their sights, the New Orleans Saints (8-2) travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons (2-8) on Thursday Night Football.

The Saints, who welcomed back head coach Sean Payton at the start of the season after his suspension for his involvement in BountyGate, has improved the teams fortunes, struggled mightily without their leader, going 7-9 during the 2012 season, and his improved his teams fortunes with the help of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan - who has added toughness to a soft perceived as "soft."

The Saints lead the NFC South division by a game, with the Carolina Panthers nipping at their heels, and are one and half games behind the Seattle Seahawks for the best record in the NFC Conference, which would give them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Drew Brees threw for 305 yards and a touchdown, with only one interception, in last week's game 23-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, in a crucial game to gain playoff home-field advantage.

"These are the (games) that just sharpen you, build confidence moving forward," said Brees.

The Atlanta Falcons - who had huge expectations after going to the NFC Conference championship game only to lose to the Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers - have been abysmal all season long, reaching a new low after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-29 last week.

Matt Ryan went 19-for-36 for 254, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, losing his fourth straight game for the season, and is the franchises longest losing streak since 2007, when head coach Mike Smith was hired by the team.

"It's just a tough loss," said Ryan. "We didn't play nearly as well as we needed to, to be competitive. I thought guys fought and played until the end, which you like to see that, but at the same time very disappointing."

Live Television Coverage
The New Orleans Saints - Atlanta Falcons Week 13 Thursday Night Football game can be seen on NFL Network, 8:25 p.m. EST.

Live Stream (Online)
Live stream coverage can be seen on NFL RedZone.

Live Stream (Radio)
Live stream coverage can be heard on NFL Audio Pass or Sirius XM Radio.

Live Score
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