At 5-6 entering Week 13, the Falcons have a decent shot at getting in the postseason given the parity in the NFC. There are currently four teams with a 5-6 record and two more are 5-7. Washington currently holds the tiebreaker as the No. 7 seed, but things could easily change over the next several weeks.
Atlanta is set to play its second of two matchups with the Buccaneers this season on Sunday. Quarterback Matt Ryan was 35-of-46 passing for 300 yards with a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions back in the Week Two 48-25 loss to Tampa Bay.
Ryan’s numbers over his last three games haven’t been good — 60 percent completion rate, 460 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions. But he recognizes the Falcons still have a shot.
“I think you know, we’ve kind of clawed our way into the mix,” Ryan said in his Wednesday press conference. “It hasn’t been pretty all the time but we’re at a position where we can still do everything we want to do and accomplish everything that we would like to accomplish. I felt like we could get to this position. The path probably isn’t the exact path I thought it might be, but we’re in we’re in a good spot.
“I think we’re a different football team at this point, in terms of personnel and just the wear and tear of the year how things go, you know, put you in the spot. I think the same [is] true for them. I think they’re a different football team than we saw Week Two.”
Ryan added that Atlanta has been in tough spots throughout the year, but one of the team’s characteristics has been its ability to fight.
“Kind of at every spot, we’ve kind of found our way to get back in you know, and I think through 11 games, I’d certainly say that’s our identity,” Ryan said. “It hasn’t been perfect, but we found ways and ultimately, that’s all you got to do. You got to find different ways every week to get the job done. Hopefully, you’re continuing to improve as the year has gone on, and I think there’s kind of been ups and downs for us. Maybe like a couple steps forward, one or two steps back. But you got to believe it’s constant progress. I do think we’ve done that.”
