The 88-win Atlanta Braves hoisted MLB's World Series trophy after getting hot down the stretch and into the postseason. Quarterback Matt Ryan believes there are lessons to take from his city-mates as the Falcons try to dig out of an early-season hole.
"When you're looking specifically at the Braves, it was a team that struggled to get over .500 until three quarters of the way through the season, and they started to play their best baseball towards the end," Ryan said, via the team's official website. "They started to come together as a team, and rely and count on each other."
The Braves got off to a slow start to the season but hit their stride down the stretch. Playing in the worst division in baseball also helped as their 88 wins wouldn't have topped any other division, and they earned fewer victories than the two National League wild cards. But Atlanta cruised through the postseason, winning its first World Series title since 1995 on Tuesday with a Game 6 beatdown of the Houston Astros.
The Falcons sit at 3-4 with 10 games left and haven't been above the .500 mark at any point since 2017. In the tough NFC South, they need to turn it around quickly to have any prayer of earning even the No. 7 seed in the conference.
MLB and NFL comparisons aren't one-to-one, particularly given the length of schedule, yadda yadda, yadda. But Ryan believes the Falcons can learn a thing or two from the Braves' mentality during their run.
"(It's) the little things that kind of change the mindset, the culture, the attitude," Ryan said. "I do think you need to learn from others, and how other teams have come together. I think (the Braves) did a great job with it. I think our guys can certainly use that as motivation or inspiration for us to maybe be able to pull ourselves together and get to a spot where we can be in the mix late in the year."
The Falcons have their chance to make a statement the next three weeks with games at New Orleans, at Dallas and versus New England. If it wants to be in the mix late in the year, Atlanta needs their run to start now.