You can say good bye to the Packers.
There won’t be an rematch of last season’s NFC championship game.
The Falcons, not exactly looking like title material, eliminated the Packers from the playoffs with a 24-21 win over the Buccaneers before 62,382 fans at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night.
The Falcons improved to 9-5 while the Bucs dropped to 4-10. The Falcons are a game behind Sains (10-4) and Panthers (10-4) in the NFC South with two games to play.
The Falcons play at the Saints on Sunday and host the Panthers in the regular-season finale on Dec. 31 in a game that likely will be moved to primetime.
The Falcons can wrap up a playoff berth with one victory. They can win the NFC South by beating the Saints and Panthers.
“We’re right where we need to be at this point of the season with two games to go in the regular season,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said after the win.
The Falcons know they are not playing excellent football. They had two fumbles. They needed a forced fumble and recovery in the red zone to stop a Buccaneers drive. They had a field goal blocked. And they needed a Buccaneers missed field goal as time expired all to prevail.
“We have to find a way to get back to work and try and improve,” Ryan said.
The Falcons, the defending NFC champions, have won five of their last six games. They haven’t clobbered teams like last season, but they’ve cobbled together enough plays to pull out close victories.
“It’s huge for us,” Ryan said of the win over Tampa Bay. “Obviously, the second time that you play an opponent in the season, it’s always difficult. But it was a big win for us to come on the road and get the job done.”
The Falcons tried to pull away late, but Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston wouldn’t allow it. After taking a 24-14 lead on a nifty 32-yard run by Devonta Freeman, the Bucs stormed back.
The Bucs scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive and then stopped the Falcons from running out the clock. The Falcons were not in the clear until Patrick Murray missed a 54-yard field goal as time expired.
With the win, the Falcons now have a 84.2 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to makenflplayoffs.com. They have a 24.9 percent chance to win the division.
There’s even a scenario where they could reach the playoffs with a 9-7 record. The Falcons have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions, Cowboys and Seahawks, who are all 8-6 and still mathematically alive.
The Falcons didn’t seem to mind that they couldn’t pull away a feisty 4-9 Tampa Bay team - as long as they got a win.
“We made enough plays to get it done,” Ryan said. “It’s keeps us right where we want to be. Now, we have to find a way to get better this week and try and get a win next Sunday down in New Orleans.”
The Falcons went to the playoffs last season as the NFC South champions and the No. 2 seed. The Falcons throttled the Seahawks in the divisional round and soundly defeated the Packers on their way to the franchise’s second Super Bowl appearance.
“It’s huge,” safety Keanu Neal said on the win. “Having this type of game where you have to battle and show your resiliency that defines who you are as a team. I like these kind of games where you have to tough it out and fight to the finish.”
The Falcons would like to atone for their collapse in Super Bowl LI. They had a 28-3 lead over the Patroits, but ended up losing in overtime.
The Falcons must secure the playoff berth first before making a deep postseason run can be discussed.
“We don’t even focus on that,” Neal said. “You get a headache thinking about all that playoff stuff. We just focus on what we have now.”
In the NFC, the Eagles have clinched the NFC East title and a first-round bye with a 12-2 record. The Vikings have won the NFC North and a playoff berth.
The remaining four spots are open and could go down the Panthers at Falcons game on Dec. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Along with the Packers, the Redskins, Cardinals, Buccaneers, 49ers, Bears and Giants have been eliminated from the playoff race.
The Falcons’ game against the Saints will be hotly contested.
The Falcons pulled out a 20-17 victory over the Saints on Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Linebacker Deion Jones made a spectacular game-saving interception with 1:05 left.
Saints coach Sean Payton was out of control in that game. He gave Freeman the choke sign, something he said later he didn’t remember. He also stormed the field because he didn’t like the officiating. He was fined $10,000 by the NFL.
The Falcons defense held the Saints to season lows in total yards (306), points (17) and rushing yards (50) in the previous meeting that kept alive the Falcons’ hopes of repeating as division champions.
There will be even more on the line Sunday.
