The Falcoholic
Boy, the Falcons have really done it to themselves yet again. After a high energy win against the Buffalo Bills which reinvigorated the fanbase was followed with a disappointing defeat in San Francisco, Atlanta laid an absolute egg against a porous Dolphins team that had seemingly nothing going right for them.
Now, the Birds sit at 3-4, in the middle of a highly competitive NFC, with their season in danger of slipping away right as the first winds of cold have arrived at our doorstep. This past weekend felt like a game they could ill afford to let slip away and not only did they do so, but they were embarrassed in the process.
Next, they travel to the northeast for a game against the red hot 6-2 New England Patriots, who seem to be firing on all cylinders right now.
Here is the scenario the Falcons face if they beat the New England Patriots in Week 9, as well as if they lose.
They will solidify themselves as the most confusing team in the NFL, having won games against AFC powerhouses in the Patriots and Bills, and having been blown out against the Panthers and Dolphins. It will be breathtaking inconsistency.
Atlanta would claw back to .500, and will keep themselves in some sort of a hunt for both the division and the wildcard at this moment, but a win against an AFC team isn’t a massive needle mover when it comes to tie breaking implications that are looking more and more likely to come into play. Tampa is idle this week, so the deficit in the division would be 2.0 games
They would go into their meeting in Germany, against the NFL-best Indianapolis Colts, on a high, having just toppled a strong AFC opponent. They would likely have some added confidence with the long flight to Berlin on tap.
This would be Atlanta’s first victory over the Patriots since their 14-win season in 1998, ending a run of seven consecutive defeats which started at the very beginning of the Belichick/Brady era.
Things will continue derailing very quickly, as they would be sitting at 3-5 in a vicious NFC, with a meeting against the buzzsaw Colts coming up in Germany. A 3-6 start would be highly likely, which would give them next to no room for error moving forward if they hope to end this long playoff draught.
They would fall to a full 3.0 games behind the Bucs in the division, and possibly even 1.5 games behind the Panthers for second place. Both of those teams currently own the tiebreaker over Atlanta, as well.
The Falcons would see their losing streak hit three games as the fanbase’s trust in Raheem Morris will continue to wane. There’s no high draft pick at the end of the tunnel to look forward to this time, either, as that first rounder currently belongs to the Los Angeles Rams.
