Falcons flying high

At the outset of the season, the Atlanta Falcons were considered one of these dark horse teams that didn't make it to the playoffs the previous year and could make some real noise in the chase for Super Bowl XLV.
Eleven wins in 13 games later, and it is clear that there are no more surprises about the men in red and black.
Atlanta has done virtually everything right this season, and though it has required a lot of luck along the way, as the old saying goes, you'd rather be lucky than good.
The Falcons probably should have been dead in the water in the NFC South race at this point, as they should have lost to the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 at the Louisiana Superdome. No, that loss wouldn't have been unexpected, but it would have certainly changed the course of the season, as they would be chasing New Orleans down, not vice versa.
Atlanta clawed back from the depths, as the Saints had the ball in overtime in a position to kick what amounted to be an extra point to win it. However, Garrett Hartley's boot soared wide, and Matt Bryant connected from 46 yards away later in the period for the biggest win of the season.
The very next week, Bryant was up to his antics again, kicking a game winner as time expired to knock off the San Francisco 49ers.
A Week 10 Thursday Night Football showdown found the Falcons blowing a big lead at home, only to come all the way back with a tremendous drive capped by a Roddy White touchdown reception to beat the Baltimore Ravens. Two weeks later, Bryant kicked the game winner against the Green Bay Packers as time expired.
Finally, in the first week of December, a comeback from 10 points down and a huge defensive stand in the dying seconds propelled Atlanta to a 28-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Going to the playoffs certainly seems like a foregone conclusion right now for Atlanta, especially since it is playing its last road game this coming week against the Seattle Seahawks before coming back to the Georgia Dome for the final two games of the year. The Falcons have a three-game cushion on that last playoff spot, and barring three losses and a slew of wins by teams around them, they know that they are going to be in the NFC postseason.
The oddsmakers at 5Dimes lined Atlanta as a minus 300 favorite at the start of last week to win the NFC South, and those NFL odds are only getting higher with each passing week. The Falcons know that their magic number is down to two to beat out the Saints for the top prize in the NFC South, and assuming that they are two wins, that would be enough to lock down the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC playoffs as well.
Quarterback Matt Ryan is rounding into an MVP candidate, and he is certainly going to be a Pro Bowler this year. The man they call "Matty Ice" has put together a remarkable campaign in which he has thrown for 3,147 yards and 22 TDs. The best thing about Ryan, though? He has only lost one game in his entire career at the Georgia Dome.
Do you want to try to be the team responsible for ending that streak? Neither do we. 5Dimes currently features the Falcons as the favorite on the board at plus 630 to win the Super Bowl. However, you can bet that as the season wears on, no one is going to want to be messing with these birds. Look for the Falcons to continue to fly high in search of their second appearance in the duel for the Lombardi Trophy.