The Falcons found themselves in a prime spot to grab a stranglehold of the NFC South with a Week 14 victory over the Buccaneers; they didn’t capitalize.
Atlanta still could keep their playoff hopes alive if they’d just taken care of business the following week against the worst team in football — the 1-12 Panthers. The Falcons fell to Carolina and Bryce Young, who failed to score even a single touchdown.
Ironically, the Falcons’ best hopes of ending their playoff drought forced them to become fans of their most hated rivals as the Saints took on the division-leading Buccaneers.
With Nee Orleans’ victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, Atlanta has the opportunity to still win the NFC South. The Bucs will play the Panthers and if Carolina upsets Tampa, the winner of the Falcons-Saints contest will host the Eagles in the Wild Card round.
That’s a pretty funny outcome for a Falcons team that has been disappointing all season and is talking about firing its head coach and selecting a quarterback in the upcoming draft.
What’s even funnier? With a little help from the Jets, the Falcons could very well lose in New Orleans and own the 8th overall pick for a third cycle in a row.
The Atlanta Falcons range of outcomes in Week 18:
A win and Bucs loss: NFC South Champs hosting the Eagles round 1.
A loss and Jets beating the Patriots: the 8th pick in the draft.
— Jeff Bell (@4WhomJBellTolls) January 1, 2024
A postseason berth would make a majority of the Falcons fan base mad because they want Arthur Blank to move on from Arthur Smith. That would also put them in a more advantageous position to potentially land one of the top signal callers in the upcoming draft.
Even with that, I’d be lying if I said I wanted the same. It’s been too long. I want the Falcons in the postseason. Arthur Smith may not be the best coach in the league, but there’s no changing my mind about the state of the franchise — Atlanta is a quarterback away from seriously competing in the NFL.
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Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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