The Falcoholic
Every team left on the schedule could give the Falcons fits on a good day. Here’s what to watch out for.
The Atlanta Falcons have found themselves in a position they have not been in a while when it comes to the playoff race this deep into the season: The driver’s seat.
After the bye, the Falcons are holding a narrow, one-game lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a significant tiebreaker that gives them additional cushion after sweeping them earlier this season. However, the Bucs have an important aspect going for them down the stretch: Their schedule is quite easy.
Week 13: @ Carolina Panthers
Week 14: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week 15: @ Los Angeles Chargers
Week 16: @ Dallas Cowboys
Week 17: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 18: vs. New Orleans Sants
Finishing the season with a schedule featuring two Panthers games, a Desmond Ridder-led Raiders team, and whatever the Cowboys are currently is a great way to get yourself back into the playoffs. If the Falcons want to stave off a Bucs charge for a fourth-straight division title, they will have to traverse a back half of the schedule that looks like a much more rickety bridge to cross now that we’ve come to it.
Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 14: @ Minnesota Vikings
Week 15: @ Las Vegas Raiders (MNF)
Week 16: vs. New York Giants
Week 17: @ Washington Commanders
Week 18: vs. Carolina Panthers
On the surface, this stretch still feels very winnable. The Raiders, Giants and Panthers all feel like games this Falcons team should still win. Where Atlanta has to find that extra gear is against teams like the greatly improved Chargers under Jim Harbaugh, the dangerously efficient Minnesota Vikings, and the surprisingly explosive Washington Commanders.
Even in the games that Atlanta should take fairly handily, there are specific units from each team that keep me up at night. Each team has at least one troubling aspect that could derail Atlanta’s bid for their first division crown since 2016.
So, I decided to confront each troubling aspect head-on and list them out, just to see if Atlanta could somehow find an answer before the rest of this promising season slips through their grasp.
The Los Angeles Chargers have a cyborg at quarterback in Justin Herbert, and what’s worse is that he’s learning. Herbert is learning how to have fun playing the game of football again, and a comfortable Herbert feels like a really scary sight, especially for a defense as porous as Atlanta’s.
One of the arguments against this could be Los Angeles’ lack of weaponry at Herbert’s disposal. However, the Falcons don’t get pressure on quarterbacks, and that’s been a constant for as long as Falcons fans can remember. That could negate the shaky state of Herbert’s receiving options.
According to Next Gen Stats, Herbert is 2nd in the...
