NE Atlanta News

The Atlanta Falcons have made significant strides toward their 2024 season goal of leading the NFC South. On Sunday, they secured a decisive 38-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This win marks the Falcons' third consecutive victory, a feat they last achieved in 2019, maintaining their undefeated status within the division.

"We talk about outrunning the south," said Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. "You get a chance to get three wins in the south in back-to-back fashion. That is always awesome, and that's what we want to be about."

With a 3-0 division record and an overall standing of 4-2, the Falcons currently lead the NFC South as they approach Week 7. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers share a similar overall record but trail with a 1-1 division mark. The New Orleans Saints follow with a 2-4 record and are 1-2 in the division, while the Panthers sit at the bottom with a 1-5 overall and an 0-2 division record.

"To go 3-0 in your division is huge," commented Falcons tight end Charlie Woerner. "It gives you all the confidence going forward."

The team's recent success follows a narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 22-17.

"We played that Sunday night game against Kansas City; we lose a close one and we're kind of pissed off about it," said left tackle Jake Matthews. "But Raheem comes right in and he goes, 'Hey, division's coming up. Let's get back to what we were saying we're going to do and win these next three games.' And it's exactly what happened."

In their previous matches, Atlanta edged out victories against divisional rivals: defeating the Saints on September 29 with a last-second field goal and overcoming the Buccaneers on October 3 through an overtime touchdown by KhaDarel Hodge.

The recent win over Carolina was marked by an impressive margin—the largest for Atlanta this year—providing further momentum for their playoff aspirations.

"At the end of the day, our goal is to make playoffs," noted left guard Matthew Bergeron. "But we also know that we have to go in and keep treating every game like it's our last one and keep on winning."

The Falcons aim for their first playoff appearance since losing in the divisional round during the 2017 season—a year when they also recorded their last winning season.

Upcoming challenges include another divisional match against Tampa Bay in Week 8 followed by games against New Orleans (Week 10) and Carolina (Week 18). However, before those encounters, Atlanta will host Seattle next Sunday.

"Why not just keep winning?" Morris concluded optimistically. "Why not us? Somebody's got to do it."