FLOWERY BRANCH -- All three NFC South rivals will have a say in the Falcons’ playoff push over the final four weeks.
The Falcons (7-5), who hold the sixth and final spot in the NFC playoff race, play the Panthers on Sunday and close with games against the Saints and the Buccaneers. The Jaguars, an AFC South entry, will meet Atlanta a week from Thursday.
While the Saints hold a two-game advantage in the NFC South, the Falcons are in a four-way battle for two wild-card spots. The Packers (12-0) and the 49ers (10-2) have clinched playoff berths. According to the website MakeNFLPlayoffs.com, the Falcons have only an 8 percent chance to win division but a 61 percent chance to make the playoffs.
“It may make the game that much more important,” linebacker Mike Peterson said of playing key games within the division. “I don’t look at it as a plus or a minus. They know us. We know them. The game is already important but adding that factor makes it more important.”
According to the standings, the Falcons have a favorable road to the playoffs in a group that includes the Bears (7-5), Lions (7-5) and Cowboys (7-5) and Giants (6-6). The Falcons’ remaining opponents were a combined 20-27, a .426 winning percentage, prior to the Jaguars game on Monday night.
The Lions appear to have the toughest task. Their opponents, who include the undefeated Packers and Saints, have a combined record of 30-18 (.625).
The Bears, currently the fifth seed, face opponents with a 26-22 (.542) combined record. In addition, they have lost starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a thumb injury and appear to be without running back Matt Forte with a knee injury.
The Cowboys currently lead the NFC East by a game over the Giants. They face teams with a 20-28 (.417) combined record. They have two games remaining with the Giants, and one of those teams will advance by winning the division.
The Giants, losers of four straight in a brutal stretch of games, have opponents with a combined record of 25-23 (.521).
The Falcons know they must take care of their own business, especially coming off a poor performance against the Texans on Sunday.
“I look at it like we’ve got to win,” wide receiver Roddy White said. “Point blank. Period. It’s late in the season and we’ve got four games left. It would be nice for us to get all four of them. We are right in the mix of things. We can’t give away any games. If we win the rest of our games, we’ll be in the playoffs. That’s what we can control.”
Although the Panthers and Buccaneers are both 4-8, a division rivalry can wreck havoc on a team’s playoff chances.
“You can waste a whole lot of energy and time trying to figure out what’s going to happen over the last four weeks of an NFL season,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “The thing that we have complete control over is we can go out and control our effort and control our attitude. ... We know that we have three division games in the final four. That’s by design. The NFL schedule-makers want it to be that way. It makes it more exciting.”
It’s been an up and down season for the Falcons whose wounds have been self-inflicted at times. Penalties and mental mistakes have been issues. It’s a long way from last season when the Falcons won the division with a 13-3 record before losing in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Packers.
“This year we are going to make things hard on ourselves,” White said. “We are going to test our character.”
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