Deep dive into remainder of season if the Falcons win, lose in week 14

The NFC South is just a big disaster. It is on track to be the worst division in football thanks to some poor play by each of the four teams.

With that being said, the Atlanta Falcons shouldn't be apologizing. They need to take advantage and make the playoffs. That starts with a win on against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which could almost clinch the division. Here we will look at the full picture if the Falcons win or lose in week 14.

Atlanta Falcons outlook if they win or lose in week 14

Breaking news: The Atlanta Falcon will be in a much better spot if they can go to 4-0 in their division with a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home.

The Falcons are currently one game up in the division (plus tiebreakers) but none of that matters if they start losing games. Pulling off a sweep of the Buccaneers would seriously put a hurting on the chances of the other two teams who are still contending to be division champs (the 1-11 Panthers, as you might have guessed, have already been eliminated).

Let's get into what is a jumbled mess of scenarios.

Current Standings:

1. Falcons 6-6 (3-0 vs. division)
2. Buccaneers 5-7 (2-1)
3. Saints 5-7 (1-2)
4. Panthers 1-11 (0-3) *eliminated*

Standings if the Falcons win in week 14:

The Falcons will be playing the Buccaneers at home on Sunday afternoon. If they can beat the Bucs then they will pull off a season sweep and gain significant ground in the standings.

The Saints will play the Panthers at home at the same time. Let's just assume that the Saints would win that game because there is zero reason to believe that they won't.

1. Falcons 7-6 (4-0)
2. Saints 6-7 (2-2)
3. Buccaneers 5-8 (2-2)

This would put the Falcons in an excellent position. You ensure that you will have a winning record against your division which is something that could be season-changing in a division this closely contested.

Standings if the Falcons lose in week 14:

1. Buccaneers 7-7 (3-1)
2. Falcons 7-7 (3-1)
3. Saints 6-7 (2-2)

The Buccaneers would hold the advantage because they, for now, would hold the advantage in 'record against common opponents.'

Tampa beat the Vikings and Titans (whom the Falcons lost to), while the Falcons beat the Texans, whom the Bucs lost to. Both beat the Panthers once and lost to the Lions.

Outlook if the Falcons win in week 14:

With a win over Tampa, the Falcons' biggest foes would then be the Saints. The Falcons will finish by playing the Panthers, Colts, Bears, and Saints, while the Saints will play the Giants, Rams, Buccaneers, and Falcons. The Saints might hold the edge in strength of schedule remaining.

However, they would need to also make up a game in the standings, which could happen in week 18. In that case, the Falcons would take the division while the Saints would be fighting for the advantage in 'record against common opponents.'

Currently, the Falcons hold the edge in common opponents with wins over the Packers, Bucs (in this case twice), and Texans, whom the Saints lost to. But the Falcons also have to play the Colts and Bears who the Saints already beat.

Tampa could still make a comeback but it would require them to make up essentially three games with the Falcons holding the head-to-head advantage. That would not be easy considering there would only be four games left.

Outlook if the Falcons lose in week 14:

Things become wild if the Falcons lose. You would have a logjam in the NFC South. Every team, if New Orleans wins, would be 6-7.

For now, the Saints are guaranteed to be third in the division thanks to a bad divisional record, but the Falcons would be kicked out of first place, as you saw before.

The Falcons main foe would be the Buccaneers since both teams beat each other once.

Just to make things a big easier, here is a look at the final four opponents for the three teams.

So, each team would be 6-7 with four games remaining, two of which are divisional matchups. The Falcons have to play the Colts and Bears who the Saints and Bucs already beat.

The Bucs would play the Packers, who the Falcons beat, and the Jaguars, who the Falcons lost to.

It is complicated but things would become much more clear if the Falcons just swept the Bucs. It would put the Falcons in a prime position to win their first division title since the 2016 season.