Atlanta Falcons Need To Keep Their Foot On the Gas

With a 12-2 record heading into week 16 of the NFL season, and having finally shown that they can beat quality opponents late in the year, the Atlanta Falcons may have quieted critics…for now. Heading up to the Motor City to play the Detroit Lions, the Falcons can accomplish two things. Secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and keep momentum going in the month of December.

The latter is actually more important. As crucial as playing at home might seem during the postseason, if the last three Super Bowl champions have taught us anything, it’s that playing well during those final weeks of the regular season means even more. The Falcons have an opportunity to fine tune their game against some teams that are desperate for wins, so it’s not going to be easy.

Right now the Lions are playing for pride, and Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz is probably trying to make a last ditch effort at saving his job. The Falcons should be prepared for everything and anything, and get after the Lions with the same emotion and physical play they brought against the New York Giants last week.

Following the Lions, the Falcons come home to finish the regular season against the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, another team that is fighting hard for some respect and who could be trying to at least finish the season at 8-8 by that time. Bucs head coach Greg Schiano is going to pull out all the stops if it means avoiding a losing record for the season.

Now is not the time for mercy. Now is the time to keep the accelerator pressed to the floor and drive hard and fast into the postseason. The way the playoffs are shaping up, the Falcons could likely be facing an opponent from the NFC East early on, a division that they went 4-0 against in the regular season. But rematches are tough to win, so the Falcons need to be sharp and playing their best football.

The critics have been silenced for now, but until they can win a postseason game during this era, then the whispers of “pretenders” will continue to be heard.

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Michael Collins is a Rant Sports NFL and MLB Network Manager, and Atlanta sports columnist. Follow him @GaSportsCraze on Twitter and here on Facebook