Okay, so, I’ve been following the Atlanta Falcons for a while now, and man, this season’s been a rollercoaster. I really wanted to figure out their playoff chances, so I started digging into it.
First, I checked out some sports news sites. I saw that The Athletic’s computer model gave the Falcons a 13% chance to make the playoffs, while the Buccaneers had an 87% chance. Another site, I think it was NFL, said the Falcons had only an 11% chance! It was pretty low. It felt like a punch in the gut, to be honest.
Then I got a little more specific. I found out that to win the NFC South, the Falcons needed the Buccaneers to lose to the Saints, and then the Falcons had to win against the Panthers. No other way, no ties allowed. Seemed like a pretty tall order.
I also saw that ESPN had a “Football Power Index.” Before Week 17, they actually rated the Falcons’ chances of winning the division at 50%. But after that, it dropped way down. After a loss in Week 17, their playoff chances were at 27.7% and the chance to win the NFC South was 23.6%.
After that, I noticed that the chances were not that good, according to all data I could find, so I just accepted it. I guess the 2024 Atlanta Falcons was perceived to be a playoff team, but the reality didn’t match. I was really bummed out about it, I won’t lie.
Later, I saw that Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South division. And after checking a bit more, I realized that the Falcons will now miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season. A SEVENTH! It’s getting hard to stay optimistic.
So yeah, that’s my little journey through the Falcons’ playoff chances. It wasn’t the outcome I hoped for, but it was interesting to see all the numbers and how things changed week by week. I even looked into some betting odds for a moment, but that just made me feel worse.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my little investigation with you all. It’s always a bit of a gamble with sports, right? You never really know what’s going to happen until it happens. Hopefully, next season will be better for the Falcons. I’ll still be rooting for them, that’s for sure!
