The Atlanta Falcons have no one to blame but themselves for being in this position. After a four-week collapse, the team that once held a sizable division lead will rely on other teams to make the postseason.
The equation is simple when talking about winning the NFC South; The Falcons have to tie the Buccaneers, at least. The Bucs must lose a game against three pretty bad teams and the Falcons would have to win out.
However, there is a sliver of hope in sneaking into the postseason as the seventh seed. Again, they need some help. Let's look at the predicament.
Falcons need to win out and hope Seahawks and Commanders lose a game
While the Falcons don't technically need to win out to make the playoffs, they basically have to. Right now, it seems more likely that the team will get the final Wildcard spot over winning the division, considering who the Bucs play.
So, the Falcons must beat the Giants, Commanders, and Panthers. While no game is easy, the Giants certainly are the closest you will come to a cakewalk. The Commanders will be difficult and the Panthers haven't been pushovers.
Beyond that, they need the Commanders to lose one of their two other games—at home against the Eagles, and on the road in Dallas.
As for Seattle, they need to lose one of their remaining three games—at home against the Vikings and on the road in Chicago and Los Angeles Rams. It is reasonable to assume they will lose to either the Vikings or Rams, at least.
While each team still has to take care of business down the stretch, three games are key to the Falcons earning a Wildcard spot: Eagles at Commanders and Vikings at Seahawks on Sunday, and the recently-flexed Sunday Night Football game in Week 17 between the Falcons and Commanders.
Specifically, seeing the Eagles beat the Commanders would extend the Falcons' hopes another week.