With Jacksonville’s win over Seattle, coupled with the Falcons win over the Saints and a previous win over Seattle, the Falcons, after NFC play this week, are in the sixth and final playoff spot with three games to play.
The defending NFC champion Falcons (8-5) hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks by virtue of their 34-31 win on Nov. 20.
The Falcons are one game behind the Panthers (9-4) and Saints (9-4) in the NFC South. The Falcons need to win their remaining games at Tampa Bay on Monday, Dec. 18, at New Orleans on Dec. 24 and against Carolina on Dec. 31 to have a shot at the division title.
“We are going to throw a hell of a week and get ready to play Tampa,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “Outside, we know that’s a conversation for sure. That’s human nature. But the best way for us to control the future is for us to play really well right now.”
The Falcons have been off since defeating the Saints 20-17 on Thursday. They return to practice on Tuesday.
“We were fortunate that we have this little time to get healed up,” Quinn said. “We will treat it almost like a bye from a coaching standpoint where we can address some of the issues where we want to really improve on and for the players to really get healthy.”
The Falcons defeated the Bucs 34-20 on Nov. 26. Ryan Fitzpatrick was playing quarterback, but Jameis Winston has since returned and is slated to start.
“We are way more equipped to stay right where we are at, on the task at hand,” Quinn said. “That will be playing Tampa down there. It will be a division game... another game, battling for it.”
The Panthers play the Green Bay Packers next week and may face quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who’s reportedly slated to return from a brokne collarbone.
“The current thinking, I am told, is that Aaron Rodgers will return when he is eligible to come off of injured reserve and play,” said NBC analyst Mike Florio. “That would be next week against the Carolina Panthers.”
The Falcons are trailed in the playoff race by Seattle (8-5), Detroit (7-6), Green Bay (7-6), Dallas (7-6), Washington (5-7) and Arizona (5-7).
In addition to Seattle, the Falcons own head-to-head tiebreakers over Detroit, Green Bay and Dallas.
Tampa Bay (4-9), Chicago (4-9), San Francisco (3-10) and the New York Giants (2-11) have been eliminated from the playoffs.
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