It took all 17 weeks, but the Atlanta Falcons earned an opportunity to defend their NFC Championship in the playoffs. The path this time around will be much tougher.
The 10-6 Falcons are headed to Los Angeles to face the Rams in the wild card round after a 22-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. It was the type of complete team effort from Atlanta that has been missing much of the season.
Carolina had a chance to win the NFC South on Sunday, but they came up woefully short. They will have to travel to New Orleans next week with a lot of issues facing the team. Cam Newton missed his first nine throws during a game where he was woefully inaccurate. The team's running game was bankrupt outside of Newton's scrambles and the Panthers' defense has quietly struggled to get stops over the last five weeks. The Panthers still finished 11-5 on the strength of their ability to win close games, but their path to the Super Bowl would likely require three straight road games.
