As a Falcons fan, this is an exciting time. The Falcons finally appear to be a postseason team after playing 7-10 football for three straight seasons.
Despite having Desmond Ridder, the poorest starting quarterback in the league, and an occasionally erratic head coach in Arthur Smith, they were on the verge of making the playoffs in 2023. A new age has now started.
The Falcons made one of the biggest offseason splashes of the year when they signed free agent Kirk Cousins to be their starting quarterback. Raheem Morris has taken over as head coach. Will this season’s actions earn them a postseason berth? Let’s see what the oddsmakers have to say.
The Falcons have a 65.99% chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 2017 at -194 odds. The Eagles (-290), Detroit Lions (-250), and San Francisco 49ers (-430) are the only teams with greater postseason odds than the Falcons.
Atlanta is also the NFC South favorite at -115 (53.49% implied probability). The Falcons defense improved significantly in 2023, finishing eighth in the NFL in terms of opponent yards per play (5.0). They nearly made the playoffs just on the strength of their defense. They had a remote chance of winning the division going into Week 18, but losses to the Saints and the Buccaneers’ victory over the Panthers put an end to that prospect.
With Cousins at the core, their offense is now a formidable force for any defense to deal with. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Darnell Mooney, and their cousins are developing into one of the NFL’s top teams.
Based on the predicted win totals of their opponents, the Falcons will also benefit from having the easiest schedule in the NFL. With the exception of two games in Weeks 9 and 13 against the Chargers, they have a very easy rest of the 2024 season after a difficult start against the Steelers, Eagles, and Chiefs in the first three weeks of the season.
This season, the oddsmakers put a lot of faith in the Falcons, and you should too.
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