This is the biggest game of the season for Atlanta.
The Atlanta Falcons beat the everloving stuffing out of the New York Giants, moving to 8-7. Unexpectedly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also lost to the Dallas Cowboys, putting the Falcons back on top of the NFC South.
That means this primetime game against the Washington Commanders has enormous stakes. Win while the Panthers slip by the Bucs and the Falcons win the NFC South outright. Lose and things get much murkier.
To win, the Falcons will have to clamp down on an excellent rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels and his merry band of playmakers. They’ll need to take advantage of a quietly weak Washington defense, with Michael Penix and Bijan Robinson leading the way. They’ll need to show that the crisp, complete effort against New York wasn’t just because that was the Giants. If they do, they either have the NFC South or set up a win-and-you’re-in situation for Week 18 against the Panthers, and either one is a nice outcome.
We’ll round up all our coverage from Week 17’s game right here, so keep it open for a feed of every story, live thread, and recap from Falcons-Commanders.