Atlanta Falcons: How many wins will they finish with?
If someone had of told you that the Atlanta Falcons would be 6-2 after the first half of the season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and New Orleans Saints on the list, would you have believed it?
Well, whether you would have believed it or not, that’s exactly where the Falcons stand after the first eight games of the year.
Lets be honest, nobody expected that kind of start with a rookie head coach in Dan Quinn and a completely revamped run game, offensive line and defense. So, before we dive into this, lets give the Falcons a ton of credit for what they have accomplished thus far in 2015.
The Falcons have eight games left which includes four division games, two against the NFC South division leading Carolina Panthers and four non division games.
Of the four non division games, the Falcons will travel to play the San Francisco 49ers this coming week before hosting both the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings. After two back-to-back road division games, the Falcons will travel to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in 15 before comings back home to host the Panthers and Saints.
Of those games, what are the guaranteed wins? The Jaguars game stands out over the rest while the 49ers game is a close second. However, both are road games, and nothing is for sure lock when you travel out of your home state.
Of the division games, the Falcons will need to win three out of the four if they want a good chance of winning the NFC South. The Panthers have a 2-game lead on the Falcons and will need to split with all three division teams.
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While it’s important to win division games, it isn’t all that important when it comes to the Falcons’ playoff hopes. The Falcons will likely need 10-11 wins in order to secure a playoff spot, but if they want to win the division, 12 or more will likely be needed.
If the Falcons make the playoffs as a wildcard team, their odds of making a deep playoff run aren’t all that likely. Playing on the road in December is something nobody wants to do. The Falcons would likely be matched up with the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals or Panthers which all would pose an extremely tough task.
However, if the Falcons can snag the NFC South from the Panthers, their chances increase drastically. The Falcons would likely have the No.1 or No.2 seed in the NFC and have a great shot at hosting multiple playoff games in the Georgia Dome.
Lets get one thing straight, though. The Falcons cannot keep turning the ball over at an outstanding rate if they want to keep winning games. The Falcons have used up all off their last-ditch efforts and will need to play mistake-free football if they want to keep their great season afloat.
The Falcons have a good team. The offense is putting up huge numbers and the defense is playing a lot better than expected, but none of that matters if they can’t hold on to the ball one way or another.
How many wins will the Falcons wind up with after week 17?
My guess is 11. The Falcons will go 11-5 and have an outside shot at winning the NFC South. It’s a shame that the best team in the NFC is in our division, but that’s football. Go out and beat the best and good things will happen.
Rise up!