Atlanta Falcons: 3 Great benefits of beating Saints in Week 14
By Derek Snyder
2. Added pressure is now on Carolina, Seattle and New Orleans
Isn’t it amazing how the outlook of an NFL season can change after only one week? Plus, when these types of amazing divisional wins come in December, they tend to loom even larger. That said, with a tough-fought victory over the Saints on Thursday night, the Falcons have put the pressure back on the Seahawks, Panthers and Saints.
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Now standing at 8-5, Atlanta is only a half-game behind the two NFL Wild-Card leaders — Carolina and Seattle. Not to mention, the Birds beat the Seahawks on Monday Night Football just a few weeks ago, which means they own the playoff-tiebreaker over the fellow NFC foes.
That said, with a trip to Jacksonville to face the red-hot Jaguars this weekend, Seattle cannot afford to slip-up and let Atlanta take their wild-card spot.
In terms of Carolina and New Orleans, each of these teams were looking like they were the only two squads competing for the NFC South crown heading into Week 14. Now with both of these teams only a game or less ahead of the Falcons, they cannot afford to lose from here-on-out.
Regardless, the Panthers and Saints each have one more game against Atlanta this year, which means everything is still up in the air.