Monday, November 9, 2009

Atlanta Falcons: A Run For the Playoffs

The Atlanta Falcons are halfway through the 2009 campaign and they are tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC Wildcard race. The Falcons and Eagles both sport 5-3 records heading into the home stretch. The Falcons have eight games remaining, one of which is with the Eagles in Atlanta. Atlanta will also play the New York Giants, who are only 1/2 game back, in New York. Atlanta's toughest opponent remaining will be division leading New Orleans in Atlanta on December 13th. The undefeated Saints have already beaten Atlanta in New Orleans this season. The Falcons yesterday enjoyed a very prosperous wild card Sunday. The Eagles were defeated by their division leading Dallas Cowboys. This was a good victory since Dallas has already defeated Atlanta, thus holding the head to head advantage on the Falcons. It would be better for Atlanta if Dallas won that division as opposed to Philly. That is predicated of course on the Falcons beating the Eagles on December 6th. The other three teams behind the Falcons, the Giants, Packers, and Bears, all lost. The best aspect of the Falcons playoff run is that they do control their own destiny. They don't necessarily have to run the table to get in the playoffs, but they must defeat the Eagles and Giants, and finish up the second half at least 6-2. So with that, I'm predicting that 11-5 will get Atlanta into the playoffs as the NFC wildcard. Stay tuned, there is a lot of NFL football yet to be played.

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