FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams may be a part of the same conference, but their divisions this season have played out very differently.
As Week 17 progresses, even the top team in the NFC South cannot match the third-ranked team in the NFC West.
The NFC South looks like this:
- Carolina Panthers: 8-7
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-8
- Atlanta Falcons: 6-9
- New Orleans Saints: 5-10
Neither the Panthers nor Buccaneers have secured a playoff bid. The Falcons and Saints were eliminated.
The NFC West is as follows:
- Seattle Seahawks: 12-3
- San Francisco 49ers: 11-4
- Los Angeles Rams: 11-4
- Arizona Cardinals: 3-12
The Seahawks, 49ers and Rams all clinched a playoff berth. The Cardinals were eliminated.
Atlanta, though, is fighting to close out the year on a high note. So far, it is doing so. Since the Falcons were nixed from the postseason, they have won back-to-back games. They hope to carry that momentum in Monday’s home game against the Rams, who are coming off a road loss.
“It’s unfortunate that we got eliminated,” Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. said. “But that doesn’t mean that we still can’t put good things on tape as a team and individually on offense and defense collectively. We always keep the main thing the main thing, trying to get as many wins as we can.”
With that in mind, many NFL experts have revealed their Falcons-Rams picks. Check out the full list below:
