ATLANTA (AP) -- Talk about a yawner.

Beyond the players and coaches, it's hard to find anyone who's interested in Sunday's game between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, both 2-9 and heading nowhere.

Was it really just over 10 months ago that the Falcons were playing in the Super Bowl? Was it really just seven months ago that Saints coach Mike Ditka donned dreadlocks and proclaimed Ricky Williams the key to getting to the Super Bowl?

"In a lot of cases, we are regressing rather than progressing," said Atlanta's Dan Reeves, who has called this the most frustrating season of his 19-year head coaching career. "It is going to be a challenge over these next five weeks to get ourselves ready to play and try to play well."

At least the Falcons have an opponent they are capable of beating. Atlanta has nine straight victories over the Saints, who have lost 11 in a row on the road -- the longest active streak in the NFL.

"I can't believe we've lost 11 consecutive games on the road," safety Sammy Knight said. "When was the last time we won?"

Nose tackle LaRoi Glover is downright baffled by the Saints' collapse.

"I have no idea why we're losing on the road," he said. "Hopefully, we can turn that around Sunday. We're both pretty much struggling. And we haven't beat them the last nine games either, five since I've been here, so that's pretty negative."

The Falcons already have defeated New Orleans once this season, rallying from a 17-7 halftime deficit for a 20-17 triumph at the Superdome. But that is little consolation for a team that has the worst 11-game record of any team that played in the Super Bowl the previous season.

Reeves was particularly upset after the Falcons were tagged with 14 penalties for 137 yards during a 34-28 loss at Carolina last Sunday night, ruining Chris Chandler's four-touchdown-pass performance.

"Winners are able to focus in tough situations and make plays," the coach said. "Right now, we aren't doing that."

The situation has become laughable to cornerback Ray Buchanan, who was flagged for interference on the Panthers' final scoring drive early in the fourth quarter.

"It was raining ... yellow," he said. "I've never seen so many in my whole life. The next thing they'll say is if you have bad breath, call another penalty. I've got a new role -- I'm going to try to lead the league in (pass interference)."

Even with no fumbles or interceptions at Charlotte, Atlanta's minus-11 turnover ratio remains the NFL's worst. The running game, which stands next-to-last in yards per game (70.4), still has not managed a 100-yard performance. The Falcons are next-to-last in points per game (14.1).

To make matter worse, Atlanta will play the rest of the season without strong safety Marty Carter, who was placed on injured reserve with a sprained ligament in his right knee. Gerald McBurrows, who was flagged twice for interference at Carolina, moves into the lineup.

As for the Saints, they have surrendered 84 points the last two weeks, losing at Jacksonville and St. Louis.

"Right now, we don't have a lot of confidence," coach Mike Ditka said. "Anything that goes wrong, we seem to say `Here we go again."'

Williams leads NFC rookies in rushing, picking up 524 yards in his last five games. But he's bothered by yet another nagging injury, this time a case of turf toe that made him questionable for Sunday's game at the Georgia Dome.

"He'll want to play and I don't think he should," Ditka said.

NEW ORLEANS Season schedule and results

ATLANTA Season schedule and results

September 12 Carolina W 19-10 September 19 @San Francisco L 21-28 October 3 @Chicago L 10-14 October 10 Atlanta L 17-20 October 17 Tennessee L 21-24 October 24 @NY Giants L 3-31 October 31 Cleveland L 16-21 November 7 Tampa Bay L 16-31 November 14 San Francisco W 24-6 November 21 @Jacksonville L 23-41 November 28 @St. Louis L 12-43 December 5 @Atlanta 1:00pm ET December 12 St. Louis 1:00pm ET December 19 @Baltimore 1:00pm ET December 24 Dallas 3:05pm ET January 2 @Carolina 1:00pm ET

September 12 Minnesota L 14-17 September 20 @Dallas L 7-24 September 26 @St. Louis L 7-35 October 3 Baltimore L 13-19 October 10 @New Orleans W 20-17 October 17 St. Louis L 13-41 October 25 @Pittsburgh L 9-13 October 31 Carolina W 27-20 November 7 Jacksonville L 7-30 November 21 @Tampa Bay L 10-19 November 28 @Carolina L 28-34 December 5 New Orleans 1:00pm ET December 12 @San Francisco 4:15pm ET December 19 @Tennessee 1:00pm ET December 26 Arizona 1:00pm ET January 3 San Francisco 9:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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