The Atlanta Falcons entered Thursday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers in dire straits. After two losses with Cooper Rush at quarterback, Atlanta left Green Bay with its first win and, more importantly, a way back into the NFC South race.
After Week Three, the Falcons sit at 1-2 alongside Carolina and New Orleans; white Tampa Bay is 0-3. Carolina currently holds the advantage over Atlanta because they beat them in Week 2, so the Falcons aren’t technically atop the division. But after their disastrous start, they’re only one game away from potentially changing the picture.
The Carolina Panthers entered Week Three feeling like things were moving in the right direction. They scored 37 points in their season-opening loss before running Atlanta out of its own building, 34-3, in Week Two.
Carolina couldn’t maintain that momentum against Cleveland, falling 21-18. Worse, quarterback Bryce Young was seen limping on the sideline. Next comes a difficult Sunday Night Football matchup against the Detroit Lions.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have even bigger problems.
Head coach Todd Bowles can point out that Tampa Bay is only one game behind the other three teams, but an 0-3 start leaves little margin for error.
The offense has been the biggest concern under former Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. Tampa Bay struggled against Minnesota‘s heavy blitz packages, managing just 11 first downs and converting 2-of-17 on third downs. Baker Mayfield’s thumb injury now leaves backup Jalon Daniels in line to start against Green Bay.
New Orleans presents Atlanta’s most immediate concern.
Quarterback Tyler Shough continues to show promise. Against the undefeated Las Vegas Raiders, he threw for 250 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while Chris Olave recorded his second 100-yard receiving game.
But turnovers fueled a fourth-quarter collapse, fueled by turnovers allowed Las Vegas to score 13 unanswered points.
That’s the Saints team Atlanta hopes shows up Monday night.
For the Falcons, the equation is becoming simple. They’re 1-2, Carolina already owns a head-to-head victory over them, and Atlanta can’t afford to start piling up divisional losses.
Beat New Orleans on Monday Night Football, however, and the Falcons move to 2-2 while handing the Saints their third loss. Suddenly, a team that looked buried after two weeks has two straight wins and a much stronger position in the NFC South race.
The division hasn’t gotten away from Atlanta.
Now the Falcons have to take advantage of that.
