Atlanta Falcons are worse than we thought

The Atlanta Falcons were given an early Christmas gift on Sunday courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Somehow, the Dirty Birds are still in the playoff hunt. But this W was hand-wrapped and delivered by a terrible Jags team. After Sunday’s 21-14 victory, the “win is a win” quickly appeared in the post-game comments and chat rooms. But in this case, that was a loss on several levels.

"“I think our best football is still ahead of us”. – Matt Ryan"

Cordarrelle Patterson is a fun player to watch, but now it’s blatantly obvious that he is the entire offense – and that is a problem. The 30-year-old is on a one-year contract. He leads the team in rushing yards despite being signed as a kick returner and a wide receiver. He put up 108 in the victory over the Jaguars. He is truly an anomaly by recording his career-best numbers in several categories, even though this is his ninth pro season.

Falcons Too Reliant on CP

Patterson did not play much in the second half of the humiliating 43-3 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys, and he didn’t dress of the 25-0 loss to the New England Patriots. In other words, this offense doesn’t score without him, and that should be concerning. Unfortunately, putting up career numbers also means Patterson is playing much more than he has in previous seasons, and the injures have already started.

Now it is obvious the offense lives and dies by his  Patterson’s health, the Falcons are in trouble.

Then there is the defense, giving up an average of 27.5 points per game, second last only to the New York Jets. The offense certainly doesn’t help with the three-and-out parade and the number of turnovers. However, Jacksonville and their discombobulated offense still managed 357 yards. It is astonishing that this team was still close and had a chance to march the field at the end of the game to tie. Had Jacksonville read their playbook, they may have completed a pass, however, a four and out gave the game to Atlanta.

Atlanta can prove the naysayers wrong in a few days. Week 13 is against the defending Super Bowl Champions, and it’s doubtful the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be in the giving mood. The Bucs beat the Falcons 48-25 in Week 2. If the Birds are playoff-worthy, they will win this game. If not, then they should be playing for next season.