The Falcons dominate the division after 3 games

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Three down. Three more.

The Atlanta Falcons are well on their way to achieving their goal for the 2024 season: overtaking the NFC South.

On Sunday, the Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers with a decisive 38-20 win at Bank of America Stadium. The victory was Atlanta's third straight, a feat not achieved since 2019, and ensured the Falcons remained undefeated in the division.

“We’re talking about running away from the South,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. “You have the chance to get three wins in a row in the south. That’s always great and that’s what we want to achieve.”

With a divisional record of 3-0 and an overall record of 4-2, the Falcons are atop the NFC South standings entering Week 7. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in second place with a record of 1-1 and 4-2. The New Orleans Saints are then in third place with 1:2 and 2:4 and the Panthers are last with 0:2 and 1:5.

“To be 3-0 in your division is huge,” Falcons tight end Charlie Woerner said. “It gives you all the confidence for the future.”

And it came after a slight loss of confidence.

Before the three-game run, the Falcons lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17.

“We played the Sunday night game against Kansas City; We lost a close game and we’re kind of upset about it,” Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews said. “But Raheem comes straight into the game and says, ‘Hey, the division is coming up. Let's go back to what we said and we will win the next three games. I think we'll be happy with where we are.” .' And that's exactly what happened.

As a quick reminder, the Falcons defeated the Saints 26-24 on September 29th and the Buccaneers 36-30 on October 3rd. The result between the Falcons and Saints was decided by a 58-yard field goal with two seconds left. The Falcons-Buccaneers game was decided in overtime when wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge broke free for a 45-yard touchdown reception. In contrast to Sunday, both came to the end.

The Falcons' 18-point margin of victory over the Panthers is easily their largest in 2024, considering all five of their previous games were nerve-wracking. That was certainly another confidence boost.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make the playoffs, so I think it definitely helps us,” Falcons left guard Matthew Bergeron said. “But we also know that we have to treat every game as if it were our last and keep winning. It's still early in the season. It’s only my second year, but I realized the NFL is a really long season. “So we just have to keep going.”

Atlanta hasn't made the playoffs since 2016, when it lost in the divisional round. This was also the last time the Falcons had an overall winning record at the end of the season.

The Falcons' next division game is Week 8, a rematch on the road against the Buccaneers. The Saints then host Atlanta in Week 10. The Panthers advance to Week 18, the regular season finale at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Before any of that can happen, the Falcons have to host the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.

“Why not just keep winning?” Morris said. “Why not us? Someone has to do it.”