Can Atlanta Falcons end losing streak? NFC South Week 15 preview
The NFC South features four games this week, featuring the Atlanta Falcons’ road game with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There are four games featuring NFC South this week. The Atlanta Falcons hit the road to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play on Thursday Night Football at the St. Louis Rams.
The undefeated Carolina Panthers travel to take on the New York Giants, and the New Orleans Saints host the Detroit Lions on Monday night. Let’s take a look at all four games.
Atlanta Falcons (6-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8): Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST
Can the Atlanta Falcons bounce back from their humiliating loss to the Carolina Panthers last week? To do so, they will need to take down a Jacksonville Jaguars team that blew out the Indianapolis Colts 51-16 last week.
The Falcons have been all over the place on offense, and it starts with the poor play of quarterback Matt Ryan. He will need to limit the turnovers and go head-to-head with Blake Bortles and a talented Jaguars passing attack. Wideouts Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns can cause the Falcons defense a number of problems.
The Jaguars are still in the AFC South race, just a game behind the Texans and Colts, who play each other this week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) at St. Louis Rams (5-8): Thursday at 8:25 p.m. EST
The Buccaneers’ playoff hopes all but ended with defeat to the Saints last week, but they will aim to get to .500 with victory over the Rams. Stopping Todd Gurley will be the key.
When Gurley struggles, so do the Rams. When Gurley has rushed for over 100 yards this year, St. Louis is 0-6. When he has surpassed 100 yards, they are 4-1. He piled on 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 21-14 victory over the Lions last week.
For the Buccaneers to win, they must limit Gurley and establish the ground game themselves.
Carolina Panthers (13-0) at New York Giants (6-7): Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST
The Carolina Panthers are aiming to move a step closer to the perfect season when they take on the New York Giants. The Panthers strolled past the Falcons last week with an emphatic 38-0 victory.
More from Blogging Dirty
- Atlanta Falcons are the perfect fit for Leonard Floyd
- 3 Largest Atlanta Falcons 2023 dead cap hits
- Atlanta Falcons trade up for a quarterback in this full mock draft
- Atlanta Falcons: 3 trade packages to land first-overall pick
- 3 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons shouldn’t fear Derek Carr and the Saints
The Giants put in an impressive performance on Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins. Odell Beckham Jr. is the player that can burn the Panthers secondary if he gets a step on the defensive back, but that will be tough work up against Josh Norman.
New York is no slouch, and this feels like the final true test Carolina must pass to reach the perfect season. Can they march on?
Detroit Lions (4-9) at New Orleans Saints (5-8): Monday at 8:30 p.m. EST
It’s been a rough season for both the Lions and Saints, and this game has little meaning for both teams, other than draft order. The Saints ended a four-game losing skid with victory over the Buccaneers last week, while the Lions have now lost two in a row after a three-game winning run.
The Saints own the No. 32 defense, and they will need to find a way of covering receivers Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.
A win for the Lions would give the Saints a higher draft pick, while victory for the Saints would put them at 6-8 and hurt their draft positioning. At this stage, a loss is probably a win.