Around the NFL

Can the Atlanta Falcons turn 3-6 into a playoff berth?

Published: Nov 10, 2014 at 05:52 AM

Marc Sessler

Can the 3-6 Falcons squeak into the playoffs?

Not likely, but membership in the awful NFC South has Atlanta sitting pretty despite its ugly play.

Notched just one game behind the 4-5 Saints, the Falcons own a division-best 3-0 mark with one victory over New Orleans and two against the floating Bucs.

Sunday's win over Tampa snapped a five-game losing streak, which brings us to some history: Bill Smith from NFL Research noted that Atlanta would become just the second team in league lore to make the playoffs after losing five straight tilts during the regular season.

The first team to do that? The 1986 Jets, who captured New York's heart with a 10-1 start before torturing fans with five straight losses to finish 10-6. Gang Green backed into the playoffs but made good with a wild-card win over Todd Blackledge and the Chiefs before falling to the Browns in a wild double-overtime classic in the divisional round.

As we pointed out on Sunday night's podcast, the Falcons look nothing like a playoff team. Still, with two games left against the Panthers and a Week 16 showdown with the Saints, Atlanta has a shot to dig itself out of hell.

Scheduled also to face the Browns, Cardinals, Packers and Steelers, the Falcons could just as easily wind up with a top-five draft pick.

The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Week 10 game from an action-packed Sunday. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.

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