Falcons players are off until Wednesday. They?ll have a relatively relaxed two weeks as the rest of the NFC playoff picture shakes out and then the wild card teams open the playoffs in two weeks.
The lowest-seeded team to advance from the wild card round will play the Falcons at the Georgia Dome on Jan. 5 or 6. As things stand now, Atlanta?s first playoff game most likely will be against either the Seahawks or the eventual winner of the NFC East from among the Redskins, Cowboys or Giants.
:scared
But a lot still can change because the 49ers and Packers are the only other NFC teams that have clinched a playoff spot. The 49ers (10-3-1) are the NFC?s No. 2 team at the moment but the Packers (10-4) still can catch them and earn a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round.
The Falcons no longer have to worry about playoff positioning.
The Falcons will seek to end a three-game losing streak in the playoffs.
In 2008 they lost 30-24 at Arizona in the wild-card round. After losing to Green Bay in the 2010 playoffs, they fell 24-2 to the Giants in the wild-card round last season.:SIB
