Atlanta Falcons: The NFC Gauntlet Starts Now

Atlanta Falcons enter a pivotal stretch of their 2017 schedule starting this week in Carolina. With three consecutive games versus NFC playoff contenders, the gauntlet starts now for the Falcons.

Okay, I have a confession to make. When I said the Atlanta Falcons’ 2017 season would be dead and buried with a loss to the New England Patriots, I may not have been completely honest with Dirty Bird Nation.

Thanks to a gritty road win in the elements at MetLife Stadium last week, the Falcons proved they still have a bit of life left. Just how much life you ask?

Well, we’re about to find out.

Now that the AFC portion of the Falcons’ calendar is behind them, the all-important inter-conference games are on deck. Remember, tiebreakers for playoff implications are often settled by conference record.

Fortunately for Atlanta’s sake, they currently hold a 3-0 conference record, thanks to three NFC North wins to start the season. However, none of those three opponents appear to be legitimate playoff contenders this year.

More from Blogging Dirty

• 3 Outside the box Atlanta Falcons backup quarterback options
• 4 Landing spots for former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota
• Building the Atlanta Falcons’ all-time depth chart: Starting with offense
• 3 Teams that will challenge the Atlanta Falcons for Lamar Jackson
• 4 Atlanta Falcons who could follow Mariota out the door

The same cannot be said for the Falcons’ next three opponents. In fact, as it stands now, these four teams – Atlanta included – make up the heart of the NFC wild card race.

Carolina Panthers, 5-3. Dallas Cowboys, 4-3. Seattle Seahawks, 5-2.

If that’s not a trip through the gauntlet, I don’t know what is.

First up, the Falcons have a date with the division rival Carolina Panthers on the road. Much like Atlanta, Carolina has had a very up and down start to their season thus far.

On one hand, the Panthers went into Foxborough in week four and won a shootout versus the Patriots. But on the other hand, this is the same team that is a week removed from scoring a mere three points in Chicago.

There’s no telling which Panthers team will show up this week versus the Falcons, which makes the match-up all the more intriguing.

After the Panthers, the Falcons return home to face the Dallas Cowboys. In a bit of good fortune for Atlanta, the NFL recently ruled against Ezekiel Elliot’s appeal, meaning the Cowboys’ star running back will miss the game versus the Falcons.

Atlanta will also have the benefit of having a week of film to study the Elliot-less Cowboys as the suspension goes into effect for the first time this week.

And last but not least on the NFC gauntlet, Atlanta travels to Seattle on Monday Night Football in part three of their bitter rivalry. Some members of Dirty Bird Nation are still not over the non-call on Atlanta receiver Julio Jones at the conclusion of the first match-up.

But as we know, the Falcons got the last laugh in the divisional round of last year’s NFC playoffs. Therefore, the Seahawks will now be the ones seeking a bit of revenge in the rubber match.

And they’ll look to do so with a couple of new faces this time around. Since their last meeting, Seattle has acquired defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, defensive end and former Falcon Dwight Freeney, and most recently left tackle Duane Brown.

All three figure to make a major impact in trying to knock off the Falcons. Hopefully Atlanta won’t have egg on its face by night’s end for not resigning Freeney.

One thing is for certain, though. At the conclusion of this three game stretch, we will either be gearing up for a title defense or reminded of what could have been last February.

Next: Panthers trade their best receiver right before Falcons game

The Falcons’ season hinges on these next three games. Go get ’em Dirty Birds!