Atlanta Falcons Could Benefit from NFL Playoff Bubble

As it has shown multiple times this year, COVID-19 can change everything in an instant. For that reason, the NFL is preparing a contingency plan where the league would play playoff games inside a bubble.

According to multiple reports, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said in a conference call this week that the league is discussing several different issues pertaining to the coronavirus, one of which is the possibility of playing playoff games in a bubble setup similar to what the NBA and NHL have deployed.

Vincent said New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton proposed the playoff bubble idea in a recent competition committee call.

"The concept itself of, as you start driving towards the championship run, is there a way -- the players could do it if they choose to do it, not club-driven -- but to create some form of bubble, so to say," Vincent said. "These are things that we just have to be flexible, so is it something that we're considering? All things are on the table, frankly, at this juncture, during this fluid environment."

Should the Falcons make the 2020 postseason, the team would obviously prefer to play its first home playoff game since January 2017, but the bubble proposal might not be the worst thing in the world for Atlanta.

Since Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in 2017, the Falcons are 12-12 at home. During the same stretch, they are 13-13 on the road.

Quarterback Matt Ryan's statistics from last season indicate he might actually play better on the road. In 2019, Ryan posted 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in away games compared to just eight touchdowns and nine interceptions at home.

Ryan posted better numbers on the road in 2017 as well, notching a 97.5 passer rating in road games compared to an 85.5 rating in home contests. In 2018, Ryan had comparable numbers in both home and away games.

It's a relatively small sample, but based on these marks, the Falcons don't have much of a home-field advantage at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

While playing in a bubble could affect the Packers, Seahawks and Saints -- three playoff-caliber teams that had a combined 17-7 home record last season -- the scenery change might not be as detrimental to the Falcons' on-field success.

Vincent did not speculate where the NFL might place its playoff bubble, but if the league takes a similar approach to the Super Bowl and hosts postseason games at a neutral site where weather won't be a factor, that would also benefit the Falcons.

If Atlanta makes the playoffs as a wild-card team, the team wouldn't have to visit a cold-weather city, and if the playoff bubble is in a dome, it would be great news for Ryan, who owns a 70-41 career record indoors (compared to 37-33 outdoors).

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