FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons, under first-year head coach Dan Quinn, are in the midst of a potentially historic collapse.
After starting the season 5-0, they are now 6-5 after dropping five of six games and are in danger of not making the playoffs.
Since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, 66 of 72 teams (91.7 percent) that started 5-0 went on to make the playoffs, according to STATS research.
If the Falcons, who play at Tampa Bay (5-6) at 1 p.m. on Sunday, can’t fix their turnover woes and quarterback Matt Ryan can’t shake his slump, the Falcons could become the seventh team not to make the playoffs after starting the season 5-0.
If the playoffs started today, the Falcons would not qualify. They are tied with Seattle (6-5), which has a tiebreaker advantage (better conference record) over the Falcons.
The only teams that did not make the playoff after starting 5-0 were the 2009 Denver Broncos (8-8), the 2009 New York Giants (8-8), the 2003 Minnesota Vikings (9-7), the 1993 New Orleans Saints (8-8) and the 1987 Washington Redskins (8-8).
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