Atlanta Falcons must win last two games to assert NFC South dominance
By Adnan Ikic
The stage is set for the Atlanta Falcons to exercise some painful, three-year old demons. To do so, the Birds must clear the hurdle that is their two biggest rivals.
The Atlanta Falcons have what so many teams yearn for at this stage of the season — control of their own destiny. The Birds will finish with a top 3 spot in the NFC if they’re able to flex their muscles against NFC South rivals two more times.
We cannot overstate the importance of a good division record.
We cannot overstate the importance of a good division record. The 2015 Atlanta Falcons were 1-5 in the NFC South and 8-8 overall. 8-8 teams can make the playoffs, but not with such an awful divisional record. The 2014 Falcons finished 6-10 overall, but 5-1 in the NFC South and a game away from the playoffs.
Sitting at 9-5 and a game up on Tampa Bay, the Atlanta Falcons are two wins away from raising a division banner. It would be their first NFC South crown since 2012. Both the Falcons and Buccaneers finish the season with games against the Saints and Panthers. Atlanta needs two wins to ensure the division title.
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The 2016 Atlanta Falcons are 3-1 in the NFC South; with a win against all three division rivals. Atlanta’s last two games come against teams barely in the playoff hunt, but with a lot still to play for. The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints are both backed into a corner. We should expect both opponents to leave it all on the field as they try to fight their way out.
The first game on the Falcons’ plate is a Christmas Eve, I-85 showdown with Carolina. A win for the Birds likely means clinching a playoff birth while simultaneously eliminating the Panthers. It would be the perfect revenge for the 34-3 blowout suffered at the hands of Carolina in the 2014 division-deciding game.
Week 17 welcomes New Orleans to The Georgia Dome. This is a game the Saints would love for nothing more than to ruin the Falcons’ division title hopes. If anything, New Orleans seeks revenge for the Falcons crashing their Week 3, post-Katrina 10-year anniversary party on Monday Night Football.