ESPN has released their record predictions for each team in the 2017 season and they have high expectations for the Atlanta Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons have finally completed their 2017 preseason schedule and can now start focusing on their first regular season match-up against the Chicago Bears. Even though this franchise lost a heartbreaking Super Bowl to the New England Patriots, they are ready for another championship run this season.
In case you haven’t watched much preseason football, the Dirty Birds failed to win one game, as they finished with an 0-4 record. While that’s never the goal, going winless in the preseason doesn’t mean that a team isn’t good, it just means that there backups couldn’t finish with a victory.
If you’re an Atlanta fan, just forget the team’s record in the month of August. ESPN didn’t seem phased by their preseason record either.
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Take a look at ESPN’s NFL Nation Reporters consensus predictions for the Falcons’ 2017 record:
"Atlanta Falcons: 11-5“A new stadium, a stacked offense and the best defense of Dan Quinn’s tenure have the Falcons hopeful of a return to the Super Bowl.”"
I’m not exactly sure what a new stadium has anything to do with the Falcons’ record in 2017, but I wouldn’t disagree with a 11-5 prediction for Atlanta this season.
They didn’t mention which games the Falcons would lose, but I think we could get pretty close to what they were thinking. Road trips to New England, Tampa Bay and Seattle would be my guess. Plus two home losses to Dallas and Minnesota.
Give or take a game here and there, I do believe Atlanta will finish somewhere around 11-5 or 12-4.
Next: NFL 2017: Predicting one disappointment from each team
That being said, the Falcons were in some surprising company fishing 11-5, as ESPN also had the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks finishing with that record as well.
If that is indeed that case, then the NFC South divisional title is going to come down to the very last weekend of the regular season.