5 Reasons the Packers will beat the Falcons (and 1 reason they might not)

Only teams like last season’s Green Bay Packers should be allowed to win a terrible division with a mediocre or bad record and qualify for the playoffs.

The Packers had to deal with their best player, Aaron Rodgers, missing half the season with a broken collar bone. Once Rodgers returned, the Packers were a legitimate team, deserving of a playoff berth, as demonstrated by their road win over Chicago and last-minute loss in the wild-card round.

This year’s Falcons? Pfffffft. They’re worthless and don’t deserve the opportunity to stumble into the playoffs at 6-10 and possibly pull a wild-card win out of their you-know-where.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to step in and do something to stop the NFC South winner from making the playoffs. Goodell has no problem just making up rules whenever he feels like it, so why not?

Instead of letting the crappy Falcons into the playoffs (or whatever bumbling team wins the NFC South), Goodell should award an NFL playoff berth to TCU, the college football team who was jobbed out of a spot in the new four-team college football playoff.

It’s only fair. The Falcons don’t deserve to play in the postseason. TCU does. Make it right, Roger. You have the power.

Meantime, here are five reasons why the Falcons will get run out of Lambeau tonight:

Have a picnic
The Falcons’ pass rush is so poor and the Packers’ pass protection so good that Aaron Rodgers should be able to have a picnic in the pocket before throwing the ball. The Falcons are 31st in the NFL with only 14 sacks. That’s led to the Falcons having the worst pass defense in the entire NFL.

No picks
If the Falcons are going to pull the upset, they’ll have to force a couple of turnovers. Is that really going to happen against Rodgers, a quarterback who hasn’t thrown a pick at home in over two years? Doubtful.

William Moore
Atlanta’s strong safety is a play-action, rollout, throw-it-deep-for-a-Jordy Nelson-touchdown waiting to happen. Moore is tough as nails and tackles well, but he has no chance in coverage against Nelson, Cobb, or anyone for that matter. If Mike McCarthy can scheme a few plays to match up a Packers receiver against Moore, buckle up.

We’ll win next week
After the Saints got throttled at home on Sunday, the Falcons will still hold down first place in the awful NFC South regardless of what happens on Monday night. Perhaps the Falcons will be like, “Meh. We’re in Wisconsin. It’s cold. The Packers are good. I smell bratwurst. Let’s just throw in the towel tonight and try to win next week against some team that isn’t as good as the Packers.” Unfortunately, this probably won’t happen. Mainly because if it does, Falcons coach Mike Smith could get canned.

(Lack of) power runng
The once-great Steven Jackson rumbled for 101 yards last week against the Cardinals. Uh-oh. The Packers usually get run over by power runners. We should be worried, right? Nah. Jackson’s outburst last week was the first time an Atlanta running back topped 100 yards in 36 games. I don’t see it happening two weeks in a row.

While Packers fans are talking about earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and MVP discussion has focused almost exclusively on Aaron Rodgers, the Falcons are fighting for a fluke division title and have a few weapons in Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. If the Falcons humble the Packers tonight, here’s how it might happen:

Ryan to Jones
It’s been a while since a wide receiver went completely crazy on the Packers in a Michael Crabtree or Reggie Wayne kind of way. Julio Jones is totally capable of torching the Packers by himself, and Matt Ryan is a quarterback capable of helping him do it. Last week, Ryan was a perfect 3-for-3 on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield. Sam Shields might be out, Tramon Williams has looked a bit shaky in coverage lately and Davon House has been up and down. If you’re in your fantasy football league’s playoffs, make sure you don’t accidentally leave Jones on your bench this week.