Atlanta Falcons Playoff Hopes on Life Support, but Not Dead

The chances of the Atlanta Falcons making the playoffs are bleak, but there is still a chance if the follow scenarios play out

So, what you're saying...there's a chance for the Falcons | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons have dropped six of their last seven games as they fall to 4-8 on the season. However, with five games left, they still are not mathematically eliminated from making it to the playoffs in 2025. According to the New York Times’ playoff simulator, the Falcons have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs. As unlikely as it may be, Atlanta still has a chance for the postseason, but they’ll need a lot of help as they are far from controlling their own destiny.

Despite being swept by the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons still have a way to win the NFC South. Obviously, Atlanta will need to win out, no easy task with the Falcons still fielding the Seattle Seahawks (9-3), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5), the Arizona Cardinals (3-9), the Los Angeles Rams (9-3) and the New Orleans Saints (2-10). Three of five games (60%) against teams with winning records, the Falcons have a steep uphill battle if they hope to make this happen, and they’re coming off a loss against a previously two in the New York Jets.

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If Atlanta did manage to win out, it would also need: 

• The Saints beat the Buccaneers in Week 14
• The Saints beat the Panthers in Week 15
• The Seahawks beat both the Panthers in Week 17 and the Miami Dolphins to beat the Buccaneers in Week 17
• The Buccaneers and Panthers to split their season series

So a lot of help, and a lot of relying on the Saints, gross. Atlanta could have helped itself out a lot if it had beaten the Panthers at least once this season, but they just can’t seem to figure out how to beat Bryce Young. 

The Falcons are also not mathematically eliminated from a wildcard spot, despite a nine-win San Francisco 49ers team currently holding the seven seed in the NFC. For this to happen, the Falcons would need to win out and not win the NFC South. They would then, in turn, need the Seahawks to lose out, finishing the season 9-8. With both teams at 9-8, Atlanta would hold the tiebreaker over Seattle, but they would also need the other teams in the hunt, such as the Panthers and Detroit Lions, not to reach nine wins on the season.

Atlanta’s best chance to make the playoffs would be through winning the division. 

Although unlikely, the young guys on this team have said they play to win, and if there’s even a chance to make the playoffs, they will attempt to do so.

“I don’t just play to participate, I play to go win,” Walker said a few weeks ago. “Playoffs are still in sight for me. We still gotta keep our foot on the gas.