3 reasons the Atlanta Falcons could be a dark horse Super Bowl contender

As of this writing, Arthur Smith’s team owns a 4-6 record and is in third place in the NFC South. The team comes off a rough 25-23 loss at Arizona, the team’s third straight setback

That doesn't paint a promising picture when it comes to the Atlanta Falcons playoff chances in 2023. Then again, the team resides in the NFC South, a division that did not produce a team with a winning record in 2022. After 10 weeks of play this season, no club amongst the four is above .500.

Stranger things have happened when it comes to reaching the Super Bowl. That’s because it’s not how you start, but how you finish. So how could the struggling Falcons pull this off in a conference that boasted only six teams with winning records entering Week 11?

3. Balanced offensive attack

It starts up front when you talk about the Atlanta Falcons offensive attack. The team has assembled one of the better fronts in the league. Earlier this month, Pro Football Network’s Dalton Miller ranked the team’s unit at No. 10 in the league.

Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus does a weekly ranking of the men in the trenches and his latest evaluation (entering Week 10) has the Falcons’ offensive front as the third-best in the NFL.

The NFL’s seventh-best running game, averaging 120,4 yards per contest, is led by the 1-2 punch of rookie Bijan Robinson (612) and Tyler Allgeier (402). The duo has combined for 1,014 of the club’s 1,304 yards on the ground. It’s worth noting that Robinson and Allgeier each have 125 carries.

Be it Desmond Ridder or Taylor Heinicke, Smith’s offense has totaled 18 touchdowns – equally divided by rushing (9) and passing (9). This unit may be just hitting its stride and that could be a huge advantage down the stretch.