Who would the Atlanta Falcons face if the playoffs started today?

Holding the direct tiebreaker over New Orleans and the division record the Atlanta Falcons would be the 4th playoff team in the NFC if the season started today. Despite being tied with New Orleans, Atlanta is in a great position after beating the Saints last week and playing the Tim Boyle-led Jets while New Orleans plays the Lions.

Atlanta is in the driver's seat once again with control of the division and a very easy schedule ahead. The next two games will have Atlanta playing a Tampa team they already beat once and the aforementioned Jets.

Holding the 4th seed means the Falcons as a division winner would host a first-round game in Atlanta. With the current seeding that matchup would be the Dallas Cowboys traveling to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.

It is an interesting matchup that would certainly heavily favor Dallas even on the road. The one interesting aspect of this matchup is the fact that Dallas has struggled against the run at times this season. Atlanta's path to winning this potential matchup if the seeding holds is Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, and Patterson being the offensive game plan. Shorten the game and control the clock taking the game out of the hands of Desmond Ridder.

Dallas is a race horse they want to start hot and never look back. When the team has lost or struggled this season it has been due to the rushing attack they are facing. If you can weather the initial storm from this offense this team can be beaten. It is a front-running roster that blows out the bad teams like no other. However, if they face even a little resistance as we saw against the Cardinals, Eagles, and 49ers this roster will struggle under the pressure.

Any team Atlanta faces in the first round is going to be a heavy favorite. But perhaps out of the possibilities Dallas is the best matchup for an Atlanta team that is looking to make an improbable run.