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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Sigler

Falcons choke 17-point lead to avoid helping Saints clinch NFC South

Well, that was almost something. The Atlanta Falcons went into halftime up 17-0 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, setting them up to help the New Orleans Saints clinch an NFC South title. But it wasn’t meant to be: the Falcons did what they always do and choked, allowing Tom Brady’s team to roar back with 21 points in the third quarter and secure a 31-27 win.

We should’ve figured that the Falcons would let us down. They let their own fans down every week. It is what it is.

Still, it’s a disappointment for the Saints. They have a very tough matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on their plate, which they aren’t favored to win. But New Orleans only needs one more victory to clinch their fourth consecutive division championship after sweeping the Bucs (and the Falcons) earlier this season.

It would have been nice for the Saints to go into this Chiefs game knowing they already won the division. But they’re no strangers to handling their own business, and they have as strong a chance of defeating the reigning Super Bowl champs as anyone else. Let’s see how it turns out.

Your updated NFC South standings going into the Saints-Chiefs tilt:

  1. 10-3* New Orleans Saints (pending)
  2. 9-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  3. 4-10 Atlanta Falcons
  4. 4-10 Carolina Panthers
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