NEW ORLEANS — The Falcons had already secured a playoff berth before facing the New Orleans Saints in an NFC South showdown at the Superdome on Monday night.
With Green Bay’s 35-21 victory over Chicago on Sunday night, the Falcons clinched their third playoff berth in four seasons. In addition to Chicago’s loss, the Falcons needed losses by Dallas and Arizona. Philadelphia defeated Dallas, and Cincinnati defeated Arizona on Saturday.
“It’s certainly an achievement franchise-wise that both [general manager] Thomas [Dimitroff], head coach Mike Smith and the whole organization should feel good about, but I don’t think any of us feel like the work is done,” Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay said shortly before kickoff Monday.
“We entered the year, like most years, with high expectations. We’ve got two games to go, and it’s going to be really interesting to see how it plays out. That doesn’t diminish the fact that [making the playoffs] is an achievement.”
Smith will join Leeman Bennett as the only coaches in franchise history to take teams to the playoffs three times. The Falcons could face the Saints again in the playoffs or they could travel to face either the Giants or the Cowboys. A lot will turn on whether the Packers play their starters against the Lions on Sunday.
The playoff berth also marks the first time in franchise history that the team has made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Bennett guided the Falcons to the playoffs after the 1978, 1980 and 1982 seasons. Dan Reeves guided them to the playoffs twice and to their only Super Bowl appearance after the 1998 season.
Jerry Glanville (1991), June Jones (1995) and Jim Mora (2004) each guided the Falcons to the playoffs once.
In the 2008 season, the Falcons were eliminated by the Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round. Last season, the Falcons were the No. 1 seed, but were upset at home by Green Bay in the divisional round. Arizona and Green Bay each went on to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
The Falcons have not won a playoff game since they pummeled the St. Louis Rams 47-17 in the divisional round on Jan. 15, 2005. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game that season.
Overall, the Falcons have made 11 trips to the playoffs and hold a 6-10 mark.
Time change
The Falcons’ final regular-season game, against Tampa Bay, has been rescheduled for 4:15 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
The NFL utilizes “flexible scheduling” on Sundays in Weeks 10-15 and 17 to ensure to get the best matchups for television.
Inactives
Wide receiver Kerry Meier, one of the team’s core special-teams players, injured his groin late last week and was declared inactive for Monday’s game. Meier was active for all 14 previous games.
The other inactives were quarterback John Parker Wilson, cornerback Kelvin Hayden, linebacker Stephen Nicholas, center Brett Romberg, offensive tackle Kirk Chambers and defensive end Cliff Matthews.
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