Is the Atlanta Falcons hole too deep?

Who saw that Atlanta Falcons performance coming? Not the oddsmakers as the spread was 13.5 in favor of that team from New Orleans.

With the six straight losses for the Atlanta Falcons, the questions were about coaching changes, the staff shakeup… you get it. They held the Saints to three field goals. It looks like a bye week cures all.

Let’s be real, after a convincing win on the road against a division-leading rival, it’s got us thinking. What if the Falcons run the table, could they perhaps sneak into the playoffs? One can hope, right?

But what would that look like? Let’s see. The next four games are all division opponents. That means the Falcons would need or get wins versus the Panther twice, the Saints again, and the Bucs again.

That puts them at six and seven. You feel that unbridled joy rising? Good. You should. But the Falcons may have dug themselves a hole just too deep to overcome, much like they did in a lot of games in the first half of the season.

For the sake of this, let’s give the Falcons unrealistic wins versus the 49ers (who remain undefeated), Jaguars, and Tampa again. That puts them at 9-7.

Here’s the frustrating part. Tiebreakers. The second-place teams are the Seahawks, Vikings, and Eagles. And even after that, it’s the Rams. That’s who the Falcons would be competing with for tiebreakers.

And out of that group the only win is the Eagles. That means Atlanta would lose with the same record against the three other teams. Have yourself a deep sigh.

If only the team came into this game-winning half their NFC matchups. Come late December, that would at least leave a little glimpse that maybe, just maybe they could sneak into the playoffs. Even with an impressive second half, the odds are still stacked against them.

As Blogging Dirty told you, anytime the Falcons beat the Saints, it feels even sweeter. But this type of performance may have come just a little too late and the Falcons probably put themselves a few too many losses behind the eight ball.

But for now, let’s celebrate the 26-9 victory. Cause man does it feel good.