The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the NFL's most inconsistent teams this season, but somehow, they're still right in the middle of the NFC South race…They went from having one of their biggest wins of the season over the 49ers to one of their ugliest losses. Make it make sense.
Following Sunday's embarrassing 16-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta sits at 3-5 and just half a game behind the division-leading Carolina Panthers. And considering how poorly the Falcons have played at times, that's pretty remarkable.
Carolina is dealing with injuries and offensive struggles, Tampa Bay can barely throw the football, and New Orleans hasn't been much better. The NFC South is wide open, and the Falcons still have a legitimate opportunity to turn their season around for all of their flaws.
The problem? Atlanta hasn't shown it can put together two good performances in a row.
For all their issues, the Atlanta Falcons are somehow still involved in the NFC South race
For all of Atlanta's problems this season, the rest of the NFC South hasn't exactly been impressive either. The Panthers currently lead the division at 3-4, but they've lost two straight games and are dealing with some serious issues of their own, as they just fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Carolina's offensive line struggled badly in its latest loss to the Green Bay Packers, allowing six sacks of Bryce Young. Injuries have also taken a toll on the Panthers' secondary, leaving them with questions on both sides of the football.
Then there's Tampa Bay, which might be the strangest team in the division right now. The Buccaneers just shut out Atlanta despite failing to complete a single pass. Baker Mayfield has completed only seven passes for 64 yards over his last two games, yet they somehow won both.
New Orleans, meanwhile, sits at 2-5 and has its own problems to sort through. For Atlanta, the opportunity is obvious.
The Falcons don't need the rest of the division to completely collapse. They just need to start winning games while their rivals continue struggling to find answers. And based on what we've seen from the NFC South so far, there's little reason to believe anyone is going to run away with it anytime soon.
It's again going to come down to the final few games of the season, which means all the Dirty Birds have to do is stay afloat until the end of the season, when close out the year with three straight division games.
The bigger concern Kevin Stefanski has to deal with is stringing together quality performances. Sustaining momentum has been an issue for a talented roster, and that falls on the man in charge.
Falcons need to figure out which version of their team is real and which isn't
The Atlanta Falcons have enough talent to compete, especially with players like Bijan Robinson and Drake London leading the offense. But their execution has been all over the place, and the quarterback position remains a major concern.
Michael Penix Jr. has shown flashes of the player Atlanta hoped he would become. He's also had performances that make it difficult to trust this offense from one week to the next. Even in the pouring rain, the four interceptions he threw is inexcusable.
And with the Falcons already sitting at 1-2 against NFC South opponents, they can't afford many more games like Sunday's. The way I see it, Atlanta's biggest problem isn't the competition standing between it and the playoffs. It's figuring out how to stop beating itself--which falls on coaching.
Because if the Falcons can find even a little consistency, this division is absolutely there for the taking. And if they can't take advantage of an NFC South this vulnerable, it'll be hard to argue they deserved a playoff spot in the first place.
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