FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/12/15 http://twitter.com/nfl345

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PREVIEW: AT

Week 6 begins on Thursday night (CBS/NFLN, 8:25 PM ET) with an NFC South matchup between the ATLANTA FALCONS (5-0) and the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (1-4) at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

Ten of the previous 13 matchups between the Falcons and Saints have been decided by one score entering their Week 6 contest.

Atlanta improved to 5-0 with a 25-19 overtime win against Washington last week.

The Falcons, who trailed in the fourth quarter against the Redskins, became the first team in NFL history to start 5-0 with four of those wins coming when trailing at some point in the fourth quarter.

“I thought this was a really clear demonstration of our determination, grit and mindset to finish,” says Falcons DAN QUINN. “All around there were plays offensively, defensively and on special teams that we made. There is a lot to take and learn from and we can continue to get better.”

Atlanta DEVONTA FREEMAN rushed for 153 yards and a in his third career start. Freeman, who previously rushed for six in his first two career starts, is the first player in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to rush for at least seven touchdowns in his first three starts to begin a career.

Entering Week 6, Falcons MATT RYAN looks to continue his success on Thursdays. Ryan has a 4-1 career record as a starter on Thursdays. Ryan has 10 touchdown passes on Thursdays, tied with for the most in the NFC since 2010.

“We’ll be on top of our game plan heading into Thursday night,” says Ryan about facing the Saints.

New Orleans enters Week 6 following a 39-17 loss at Philadelphia.

“We need to keep fighting and stay within ourselves,” says New Orleans , who had five receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia. “We need to get back to work tomorrow. It is a short turnaround but we all have to go through it. We need to go home, fix the mistakes and get a win on Thursday against Atlanta.”

The Saints enter Week 6 having won six of their past 10 games against the Falcons. New Orleans quarterback has won seven of his nine starts at home with New Orleans against Atlanta.

Since joining New Orleans in 2006, Brees has led the Saints to a 25-11 (.694) record in regular season primetime games (any game that starts 7:00 PM or later on the East Coast), the third-best record of any team during that span. With a win on Thursday night, New Orleans can tie the New England Patriots (26) for the second-most wins in primetime since 2006.

Brees has 87 touchdown passes during primetime games, trailing only (106) for the most during that span. His 11,090 passing yards are also the fourth-most on primetime since 2006.

The most passing yards and touchdowns during primetime games since 2006:

PASSING YARDS TOUCHDOWN PASSES PLAYER TEAM(S) YARDS PLAYER TEAM(S) TOUCHDOWNS Peyton Manning Indianapolis, Denver 12,316 Peyton Manning Indianapolis, Denver 106 New York Giants 11,832 Drew Brees New Orleans 87 Tony Romo 11,123 Tony Romo Dallas 83 Drew Brees New Orleans 11,090 Eli Manning New York Giants 80 Pittsburgh 10,580 New England 75

WEEK 6 – THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015

ATLANTA FALCONS (5-0) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (1-4)

SERIES FALCONS SAINTS THURS. RECORD 6-4 5-4 SERIES LEADER 48-43 STREAKS Past 2 6 of past 9 COACHES VS. OPP. Quinn: 0-0 Payton: 12-4 LAST WEEK W 25-19 (OT) vs. Redskins L 39-17 at Eagles LAST GAME 12/21/14: Falcons 30 at Saints 14. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan completes 30 of 40 passes for 322 yards & TD. Falcons DE Osi Umenyiora has 86-yard FR-TD. LAST GAME AT SITE 12/21/14 REFEREE Gene Steratore BROADCAST CBS/NFLN (7:30 PM ET): , Phill Simms, (field reporter). Westwood One: Ian Eagle, Tony Boselli. SIRIUS: 88 (WW1), 83 (Atl.), 93 (NO). XM: 88 (WW1), 225 (NO). STATS PASSING Ryan: 120-185-1456-6-4-90.7 Brees: 113-170-1304-6-3-93.8 RUSHING Freeman: 93-405-4.4-8 Ingram: 68-261-3.8-2 RECEIVING Jones: 43-545-12.7-4 Cooks: 25-322-12.9-1 OFFENSE 406.2 387.4 TAKE/GIVE +5 -5 DEFENSE 366.4 409.0 SACKS Beasley (R): 2 Kikaha (R): 3 INTs Alford, Moore: 2 Breaux, Browner: 1 PUNTING Bosher: 52.3 Morstead: 43.2 KICKING Bryant: 40 (16/16 PAT; 8/10 FG) Hocker: 31 (7/8 PAT; 8/10 FG) NOTES FALCONS: 1st team in NFL history to start 5-0 with 4 wins after trailing in 4th Q…QB MATT RYAN won both starts vs. NO in 2014, completing 61 of 83 (73.5 pct.) for 770 yards with 4 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 118 rating. Has won 4 of 5 on Thurs., completing 120 of 172 (69.8 pct.) for 1,283 yards & 10 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 110.7 rating…RB DEVONTA FREEMAN is 1st player in SB era with 7 rush TDs in 1st 3 career starts. Leads NFL with 8 TDs…WR leads NFL with 43 catches. Aims for 3rd in row vs. NO with 100+ rec. yards. Has 19 catches for 294 yards (98 per game) & 3 TDs in past 3 on Thurs. Has 75 catches for 1,158 yards (128.7 per game) & 6 TDs in past 9. In past 5 on Thurs., WR RODDY WHITE has 3 100-yard games & 5 TDs…CB ROBERT ALFORD had 2 INTs last week, incl. GW 59-yard TD in OT. CB had INT in last meeting. Has 39 PD since entering NFL in 2013, most by Falcon. LB ties for 2nd among NFL rookies with 2 sacks…SAINTS: QB DREW BREES has won 7 of 9 starts at home with NO vs. Atl. Since joining NO in 2006, leads NFL with 44,989 yards & 322 TDs…RB MARK INGRAM has 3 rush TDs in past 2 meetings. Has 3 rush TDs in past 3 on Thurs. Has 24 catches, tied for 2nd by NFL RB…Last week, WRs WILLIE SNEAD (141) & BRANDIN COOKS (107) each recorded 1st career 100-yard game. Cooks also had TD. Had 7 catches for 77 yards & TD in only game vs. Atl. WR MARQUES COLSTON has 11 catches for 190 yards (95 per game) in past 2 meetings. TE BENJAMIN WATSON had TD catch last week…LB HAU’OLI KIKAHA leads NFL rookies with 3 sacks. Rookie LB is 2nd on team with 32 tackles (S , 34). DE has 12 sacks in past 17 at home. CBs BRANDON BROWNER & DELVIN BREAUX each had INT last week.