NFC South standings after Falcons win on MNF: What does Atlanta need to make the playoffs?
Monday's game wasn't officially a must-win for the Atlanta Falcons, but considering the fact that they entered the contest on a four-game losing streak and the opponent on the other side, it certainly felt like a game that they had to have.
It wasn't pretty, and Kirk Cousins was far from stellar, but the Falcons did what they had to do and defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 15-9 on Monday Night Football. That win improved their record to 7-7 on the season.
Being .500 after 15 weeks of an NFL season would mostly mean that you're playing for a Wild Card, but the Falcons have the fortune of playing in the NFC South. This means that you can be painfully mediocre as the Falcons appear to be, yet still have a shot at winning the division and earning a home game in the Wild Card Round.
NFC South standings after Falcons MNF win: Atlanta's path to playoffs is crystal clear
Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-6 |
2 | Atlanta Falcons | 7-7 |
3 | New Orleans Saints | 5-9 |
4 | Carolina Panthers | 3-11 |
The win for Atlanta was a huge one, especially since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated the Los Angeles Chargers on the road a little more than 24 hours prior, to improve to 8-6. The Falcons enter Week 16 sitting 1.0 game back of the first-place Bucs in the NFC South.
While it's never ideal to be trailing in a divisional race with only three weeks to go in the regular season, the path for Atlanta to win the South is quite simple. All they have to do is win one more game than the Bucs down the stretch.
Since the Falcons swept the Bucs in the season series, they hold the tiebreaker. As long as they finish with a record equal to (or better than) Tampa Bay, they win the division. The only unfortunate thing that comes with Atlanta's scenario, though, is that they don't control their own destiny.
The Falcons can go 3-0 down the stretch and fail to win the division if the Bucs do the same. With the Buccaneers slated to face off against the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints to finish off their season, Atlanta might have to get lucky to win the division.
With that being said, though, if the Falcons can win out, there's a good chance they'll make the playoffs as a Wild Card team, at the very least. With matchups against the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, and the Panthers to finish out their year, a 3-0 burst to finish the year isn't impossible - especially after Washington nearly lost to the lowly Derek Carr-less Saints.
Is a division win likely? Perhaps not considering Tampa Bay's schedule, but again, all the Falcons need to do is win one more game than the Bucs to win the South. Even if they fail to do so, their playoff hopes are very much alive thanks to their win in Las Vegas.
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