It’s not Victory Monday for the Falcons, but it’s sure better than the prior two Mondays following the losses to the Saints and Broncos. It was a bye week for the Atlanta faithful, but there was plenty to watch around the league, namely the Buccaneers taking on the Giants in the Meadowlands.
While the first-place Falcons got healthy during their bye week, the Bucs got to play Tommy DeVito and the reeling Giants, who look like an absolute dumpster fire. Tampa Bay crushed New York 30-7, breaking a four-game losing streak and improving their record to 5-6 behind the 6-5 Falcons.
Over the next six games, the Falcons will play three teams that currently have winning records, while the Bucs only have one such team remaining on their schedule as they try to win the division for a fourth consecutive season.
Although we can acknowledge the Bucs are ascending and the Falcons have been descending, it’s a complete overreaction to say Atlanta will falter down the stretch and lose the NFC South.
It’s not impossible that the Falcons lose a few more games; in fact, it’s likely. It’s also not impossible for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs to overcome a one-game deficit. However, there’s one key issue.
The Falcons not only hold a one-game lead over their division rivals, but they don’t play each other again, and Atlanta already owns the tiebreaker thanks to their 2-0 record over Tampa Bay. The Bucs will have to outpace the Falcons by more than just the current one-game deficit.
If the Falcons can win three of their final six games, just simply going .500, that’ll force the Bucs to win five of their final six games. If the Falcons win four of six, the Bucs will have to run the table to win the division.
While it might not seem like it right now, the Falcons are still in firm control of the NFC South.
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Photographer: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire
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