It’s just weird.
The Falcons sit at 5-9 with two games remaining in a strange season. Not only can they still make the playoffs, but they control their fate. With wins Sunday at the Saints and the following week at home against the Panthers, the Falcons are in and will host a first-round game.
Welcome to this year’s version of the NFC South.
“I’ve seen a team go 7-9 and go on to win a wild-card playoff game,” running back Steven Jackson said. “It’s not weird. It’s not crazy. I don’t think we need to apologize for it. We are blessed to be in a division that allows for that to happen. Some teams right now know that they won’t be playing in the postseason. We still have a chance to fight for it. Why not?”
Jackson referenced the 2010 season when the Seahawks won their division with a 7-9 record. They hosted the 11-5 Saints and came away with a 41-36 victory. There is precedent for what the Falcons are trying to accomplish.
Once in the playoffs, anything can happen.
The Giants won the Super Bowl after finishing the 2011 season at 9-7. Their first of four postseason wins on that march was a 24-2 win over the 10-6 Falcons in a wild-card game in New York. That season, the Giants were 7-7 and needed to win their final two regular-season games to make it. They also defeated the Packers and 49ers before defeating the Patriots 21-17 in the Super Bowl.
The Cardinals made it all the way to the Super Bowl after finishing the 2008 season at 9-7. Their first victim? The 11-5 Falcons, who lost the wild-card game 30-24 in Arizona. The Cardinals would lose the Super Bowl to the Steelers 27-23. That season, the Cardinals were 8-7 and needed a win in their final regular-season game. They also defeated the Panthers and Eagles before losing to the Steelers 27-23 in the Super Bowl.
“Nothing is odd about an NFL season,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We’ve sat on the other side of it. …. We are just glad that we are in the situation that we are in and we know what we have to do. I think it’s going to be a very interesting two weeks.”
Still, there are five teams in the NFC with five or more wins that have been eliminated from the postseason — the 49ers (seven wins), the Vikings and Rams (six) and the Giants and Bears (five). The state of the division has resulted in some national pundits calling for a revision of the league’s playoff format.
“This year has been more different than any I’ve been a part of, but each year is unique,” said Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, part of those two road wild-card losses to teams with a worse record. “The way this year has shaken out, the way our division has shaken out, it’s the most unique I’ve been a part of. Strange? No. We know the position that we are in. That is the position that you want to be in late in the year. You want to have a chance to continue to play, regardless of what your record is.”
The Falcons’ playoff fate starts with Sunday’s game against the division-rival Saints. It’s funny how the season has come almost full circle. The Falcons and Saints met in the season opener in September in Atlanta. The Falcons won a 37-34 overtime decision on Matt Bryant’s 52-yard field goal. The game-winner came after safety William Moore caused a fumble on a completed pass to Marques Colston.
Since that game, the Falcons have won two in a row once — Nov. 9 and 16 over the Buccaneers and Panthers — in an up-and-down season. The key for the Falcons is that they are 4-0 in the division. Sunday’s home loss to the Steelers dropped the Falcons to third in the division behind the Saints and the 5-8-1 Panthers.
The Saints have won only two straight once — Oct. 26 and 30 over the Packers and Panthers. They have a three-game losing streak and have lost their past four at home, site of Sunday’s game. They are 2-2 in the division. They are coming off Monday’s win over the Bears that vaulted them past the Falcons into first place.
“Obviously, it’s unusual,” guard Justin Blaylock said of the Falcons’ playoff position. “But we don’t control how things are set up. We just go out and play.”
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