The Falcons season may have unraveled like a cheap Christmas sweater. But I can’t help wondering: How much damage would be repaired by an unlikely victory over Carolina inside the Georgia Dome?
Maybe there is not a playoff spot to be won Sunday, but there are plenty of other benefits to be had with a victory:
- You'd forever be the team that was the lump of coal in the Panthers' stocking, the team that denied them the glory of an undefeated regular season. Face it, that's the only chance these Falcons will have at leaving a mark.
- You'd exact a large measure of retribution for the 38-0 pounding Carolina but on you just a couple weeks back. Revenge is a dish best served while standing over a prone opponent.
- You can cancel for one week at least The Cam Newton Endzone Dance-A-Thon. In his hometown, no less.
- You can ruin the day of the second most annoying part of a team that has become such unlikable winners: The secondary. I just fear that as this group goes to work on Roddy White, he's going to make Odell Beckham look like Gandhi.
- And, really, Carolina had a habit of bringing a baseball bat onto the field during pregame? What, they couldn't get the AK-47 through security? Never has a group of alleged professionals been in more need of a humbling afternoon.
- With a victory, the Falcons assuredly would avoid a losing season, making 8-8 the absolute worst they could finish. And, honestly, that would be in line with the modest projections for this bunch when the season began (even if its route to break-even was fraught with switchbacks and potholes).
Great deeds are beyond the reach of the Falcons at this point. Even the idea of beating Carolina seems like a holiday fantasy. But think how far one more victory on the Sunday after Christmas would go toward soothing a dyspeptic campaign.
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