I have a feeling the Falcons game will be down to the wire, perhaps a late FG wins it for somebody.
1) Its in Atlanta.
2) The Falcons are coming off a win and are 5-6. They have a 9% chance of making the playoffs, but there are a bunch of 5-6 teams and somebody from that group is going to get a wildcard. So this is a huge chance for the Falcons to get back into the playoff conversation. Maybe the Saints and Panthers have basically packed it in, but we can't say that about the Falcons.
3) The Falcons are pretty healthy.
4) The Falcons have played a lot of close games, and won some of them.
5) The Bucs have a 99% chance of making the playoffs, and may be looking ahead to the Bills.
6) The Bucs have not played like a juggernaut on cruise control this year. Mistakes, penalties and injuries have reared their ugly heads this year and they have recent losses to average teams.
7) Brady has been human for the last three games for whatever reason. Will this be the game he starts hitting on all cylinders again. This should be the game where Brady gets things back in order. If that doesn't happen then it really is time to start the conversation in earnest about whether its time for him to retire at the end of the season.
The Bucs have a chance to put their foot on the neck of the NFC South by winning this game, but this will not be an easy win. I see this being an ugly game coming down to the last two minutes with the Bucs winning by 3 or less.
