FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons have a couple of paths to the playoffs, with their percentage to make it at 10%, according to the NFL.
If they win their remaining two games, against the Bears and the Saints, and finish 9-8, they’ll have a chance to win the NFC South or make the playoffs as a wild-card team.
If they get to 9-8, and the Bucs lose their final two games (against the Saints and Panthers) to finish 8-9, the Falcons would win the division title.
If the Bucs go 1-1 (maybe lose to the Saints and beat the Panthers) and both teams finish 9-8, the Bucs would win the division title based on the third-tiebreaker, best won-lost-tie percentage in common games (5-3 to 4-4).
The Falcons would then drop to the wild-card group, which includes the Rams (8-7), Seahawks (8-7), Vikings (7-8), Packers (7-8) and Saints (7-8). The Bears (6-9) and Giants (5-9 before Monday’s game) have not been eliminated.
The Falcons have the head-to-head advantage over the Packers, but not the Vikings. They would have the head-to-head advantage over the Bears if they beat them next week.
The Vikings and the Packers basically will play in a knock-out game next week.
The Vikings close with a game against the Lions. The Packers close with a game against the Bears.
If the Vikings beat the Packers and the Lions, they’ll earn the final spot. If the Packers beat the Vikings and the Bears, they’d finish 9-8, but would lose out the Falcons because of the Falcons’ 25-24 win on Sept. 17.
The Rams close with games at the Giants and at the 49ers. They would finish 9-8 if they go 1-1. If the 49ers don’t play their starters, the Rams could finish 10-7.
The Seahawks host the Steelers and play at the Cardinals. If they win both games, they would be 10-7. The Rams and Seahawks could bump off the Falcons by going 2-0.
The Falcons don’t control their own destiny. They need the Saints to beat the Bucs and win out. If not, they need the Vikings, Rams or Seahawks to stumble.
