Cover 9@9: Can the Falcons make a playoff push?

Here’s the NFC South breakdown with four games to play:

The Falcons (.365, 19-33) have the easiest schedule down the stretch based on the opponents’ won-loss records. They play at Carolina (1-12), host the Colts (7-6), play at the Bears (5-8) and close out on the road at New Orleans (6-7).

“Yeah, I think at this point in the NFL, just about every team right now with the exception of a few, it’s crunch time,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said.

Tampa Bay is in first place based on their record (4-2) against common opponents. The Falcons are 3-3 in that key tiebreaker. The Bucs also are 5-4 in the conference, and the Falcons are 4-5, while they split the head-to-head meetings.

Tampa Bay (.404, 21-31) travels to play at Green Bay (6-7) and has two of its final three games at home. It hosts Jacksonville (8-5), New Orleans (6-7) and closes at Carolina (1-12).

New Orleans (.442, 23-29) hosts the New York Giants (5-8), plays at the Los Angeles Rams (6-7), at Tampa Bay (6-7), and closes by hosting the Falcons (6-7).

It could come down to if the Falcons can win in New Orleans.

The Bears might be problematic, as they beat the Lions on Sunday. The Lions drilled the Falcons 20-6 earlier in the season.

The Falcons also will need the Giants and quarterback Tommy DeVito, who upset Green Bay on “Monday Night Football,” to pull off another upset against the Saints.

Here’s how the NFC playoff picture looks heading into Week 15.

San Francisco is the No. 1 seed followed by Dallas (10-3), Detroit (9-4) and Tampa (6-7). The three wild-card teams would be the Eagles (10-3), Vikings (7-6) and Bucs (6-7).

On the outside looking in are the Rams, Seahawks, Falcons and Saints, all at 6-7. Followed by the Giants (5-8), Commanders (4-9) and Cardinals (3-10).

Carolina (1-12) has been eliminated.

If Cunningham is correct, over the offseason the Falcons, who have only one win over a team with a winning record – Houston 7-6 – are going to be kicking themselves for losing to the Commanders, Cardinals, Vikings, Bucs and Titans.

2. The last meeting: The Panthers, who traded up in the 2023 draft to acquire the top pick, came to town for the season opener with rookie quarterback Bryce Young and were full of promise. But the Falcons won 24-10, and the Panthers lost their next five games.

The Panthers posted a win over Houston on Oct. 29, but have since lost six consecutive games. Former coach Frank Reich was terminated after they were 1-10. The Panthers played the Bucs tough in Chris Tabor’s first game as interim head coach before losing 21-18, and the Panthers lost to the Saints 28-6 last week.

3. Falcons see talent: The Falcons believe the Panthers are much better than their 1-12 record.

“It starts with just watching the tape and getting a feel for what they are doing (under Tabor),” defensive end Calais Campbell said. “They gave Tampa everything they could handle.”

The Panthers are considered dangerous because they are playing out the string, while the Falcons still have division-title and playoff aspirations.

“They are definitely going to compete and try to upset our season,” Campbell said. “That’s just how it goes in division games this late in the season. We expect their best effort as they try to get their young team going. They are talented as can be.”

4. Keep pounding: Young’s best friend is the Panthers’ rushing attack, because the offensive line is meek and his wide receivers are subpar.

The Panthers have been leaning on running backs Chuba Hubbard and Myles Sanders in the two games under Tabor.

Hubbard rushed 23 times for 87 yards and Sanders had 10 carries for 74 yards against the Saints. Overall, the Panthers rushed 39 times for 204 yards, but could muster only six points.

In the close game against the Bucs, Hubbard rushed 25 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m sure they feel pretty good about the way they ran the ball (against the Saints),” Smith said. “Looking at some of the things that may have hurt us (against the Bucs). That’s something that we have to shut down. They’re going to change a little bit of the style from what they were doing with Frank.”

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

5. Panthers’ defense is respectable: The Panthers have strong players in defensive tackle Derrick Brown, linebacker Brian Burns and safety Jeremy Chinn. The Panthers opened against the Saints in a big nickel defense with three safeties – Chinn, Vonn Bell and Xavier Woods.

Brown played at Lanier High and Auburn. He was a AJC Super 11 selection in 2015.

“Defensively, they’re playing solid,” Smith said. “I think Derrick Brown is as good as anybody inside. We’ve got to block him. It will start there. We have our work cut out for us.”

6. Careful: The Falcons can’t get caught sleeping on the Panthers. The Falcons are in no position to overlook the current division doormats.

“It’s December football, and if you want to play in January, in late January, you have to win these games,” Campbell said. “Stay focused. Everybody is tired. Everybody is hurt. Everybody has something they can complain about, but dig deep, stay focused and let’s keep moving forward.”

“It’s the NFL,” Smith said. “We all know that. Now, this is what happens. This is the most important game of the season, so we have to make sure we play really well and eliminate the couple of plays that have stopped us from taking the next step.”

7. Series history: This will be the 58th meeting. The Falcons lead the series 36-21.

8. Where to watch, listen and livestream: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Falcons (6-7) and the Carolina Panthers (1-12), which is set for 1 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

TV: Fox. Play-by-Play: Adam Amin. Analyst: Mark Schlereth. Sideline: Kristina Pink.

Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Miller Pope. Pregame/postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson, with Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain as studio producers at 11 a.m.

Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 380 or the app Panthers 225, or the app. (Games also are available on the SiriusXM app. Fans can find their team’s channel under the “NFL Play-by-Play” tab or by searching for their team’s name.)

Livestream: Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app, NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International.

9. Depth chart: The Falcons are hoping to get some of their starters back.

Right tackle Kaleb McGary (right knee), linebacker Nate Landman (left knee), defensive tackle David Onyemata (left ankle), center Drew Dalman (right ankle) and cornerback Jeff Okudah (ankle) did not play against the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Defensive tackle Kentavius Street (pectoral) and left tackle Jake Matthews (ankle) were injured in the game.

Here’s the depth chart for the Panthers’ game:

OFFENSE

WR Mack Hollins, KhaDarel Hodge

TE Kyle Pitts, John FitzPatrick

LT Jake Matthews

LG Matthew Bergeron, Jovaughn Gwyn

C Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil

RG Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton

RT Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton

TE Jonnu Smith, MyCole Pruitt

WR Drake London, Scotty Miller, Van Jefferson

FB Keith Smith (Team list him as Pitts backup, but he lines up at fullback in games)

RB Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier

Joker Cordarrelle Patterson

QB Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, Logan Woodside

DEFENSE

DL Kentavious Street, Albert Huggins, Travis Bell

DL David Onyemata, Ta’Quon Graham

DE Calais Campbell, Zach Harrison, Joe Gaziano

OLB Bud Dupree, Lorenzo Carter

ILB Kaden Elliss

ILB Nate Landman, Andre Smith Jr.

OLB Arnold Ebiketie, DeAngelo Malone

CB A.J. Terrell, Mike Hughes

S Jessie Bates III, Micah Abernathy

S Richie Grant, DeMarcco Hellams

NB Dee Alford, Clark Phillips III

CB Jeff Okudah, Tre Flowers

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Younghoe Koo

P Bradley Pinion

LS Liam McCullough

H Bradley Pinion

PR Dee Alford, Scotty Miller, Mike Hughes, Bijan Robinson

KOR Cordarrelle Patterson, Mike Hughes

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