Atlanta Falcons slim playoff hopes lie in the arm of “Mr. Irrelevant”

Who would have ever thought prior to the season that the Atlanta Falcons, in December, would be relying on the last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft to beat Tom Brady in order to keep their playoff hopes alive?

Here we are as the Falcons must have 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy make his first NFL start and beat Tom Brady’s Buccaneers.

Atlanta Falcons have to rely on “Mr. Irrelevant” beating Tom Brady in order to make postseason

It is a crazy sentence that no one ever thought they would see. The Atlanta Falcons must get a lot of help in order to make the postseason, starting with the 49ers, and their third-string quarterback, beating the Buccaneers.

The craziest thing about all of this? The 49ers are actually the favorites. Let’s point it out again, back in August who would have predicted that Brock Purdy would be favored to win over Tom Brady?

It is a turn of events that no one would have ever guessed. And the Falcons are the ones watching closest to see whether the rookie can keep their slim playoff hopes alive for their own rookie quarterback.

The good news is that the 49ers are a team that is set up to win without their top-two quarterbacks. They have a defense that has been playing like the best in the league ever since Marcus Mariota and Patrick Mahomes steamrolled them in October and they also have a strong running game that can shoulder the load.

Not to mention, Kyle Shanahan is a great play caller — as we all know — that can get the most out of an inexperienced quarterback. Purdy played essentially the whole game against the Dolphins and looked pretty good.

The slight playoff hopes the Atlanta Falcons have will be either destroyed or boosted depending on how “Mr. Irrelevant” plays against the seven-time Super Bowl champion.