After pulling off a surprising 29-20 upset over the previously undefeated San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons improved to 3-4 and as they find themselves right back in the NFC South race.
And to make matters even better, the current division-leading Carolina Panthers suffered an embarrassing 43-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, dropping to 3-3.
Now, with a crucial divisional matchup against Tampa Bay coming up next week, Atlanta has a legitimate opportunity to make some noise in the NFC South. But perhaps the most encouraging part is that Atlanta has already shown it can compete with some of the NFL's better teams.
The Falcons have now beaten a San Francisco team that entered Sunday at 6-0. They've also shown flashes of a much more dangerous offense with Penix under center, particularly as his connection with Drake London and Kyle Pitts continues to develop.
The Atlanta Falcons have a real chance to win the NFC South again
Sure, there are still plenty of issues to clean up. Atlanta has been wildly inconsistent, and its earlier 34-3 loss to Carolina certainly doesn't help its case. But the division remains within reach, and the Falcons have a chance to take advantage of it.
The Atlanta Falcons upcoming Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Bucca eers suddenly carries a lot more weight.
The Falcons will travel to Raymond James Stadium looking to reach .500 for the first time since their 2-2 start, while the Buccaneers are coming off their most impressive performance of the season, as they forced four turnovers and gashed the Panthers' feeble run defense in the ground game.
And with Baker Mayfield now back from a thumb injury, Tampa Bay could be a much more difficult opponent than its 2-5 record suggests. And you know Baker will come in motivated to knock Stefanski down a peg after their ugly breakup in Cleveland.
Still, the Falcons have a legitimate opportunity here. A victory would improve their record to 4-4, give them their first divisional win of the season and put additional pressure on Carolina, who have a difficult primetime matchup against the Green Bay Packers on the horizon.
If Carolina loses in Green Bay and Atlanta takes care of Tampa Bay, the Falcons could find themselves in an even better position heading into November. Of course, that requires Stefanski's team to do something it hasn't managed consistently this season: Build on a strong performance.
Atlanta has already shown how quickly things can go wrong. One week the Falcons look capable of competing with almost anyone, and the next they're struggling to put together a complete game.
That's what makes Sunday's win over San Francisco so interesting.
Penix looked comfortable, the defense made plays when it mattered, and Atlanta finally found a way to beat a quality opponent without relying entirely on Bijan Robinson to carry the offense. Now the Falcons need to prove they can do it again.
Because with Carolina stumbling, Tampa Bay still trying to recover from its rough start and New Orleans sitting at the bottom of the division, the Falcons may not get a much better opportunity to take control of its destiny and make a run for the division title.
The NFC South is there for the taking. The Falcons just need to stop getting in their own way.
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