Atlanta Falcons dip in latest ESPN NFL Power Rankings

It hasn’t exactly been an ideal stretch for the Atlanta Falcons, and as a result, the public perception of the team continues to decline. Last week, the good people at the worldwide leader in sports (ESPN) ranked the Falcons at number 17 in their NFL Power Rankings, while simply stating that Mike Smith’s club was “another NFC South team that can’t win on the road”. This week, Atlanta dips to number 21 in the rankings, and this was the caption associated with the team.

"Matt Ryan was 2-of-8 for 44 yards and an interception Sunday on throws at least 15 yards downfield. Ryan’s thrown at least one interception in all three road games (0-3 record)."

Quite honestly, it is tough to argue against this type of sentiment at the moment, as the Falcons were battered down the stretch in last Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. Matt Ryan continues to lead a more then acceptable offense, despite some huge losses along the offensive line and the somewhat misleading caption issued by ESPN above, but the defense is having all sorts of issues in stopping both the run and the pass, and there does not always appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Falcons host the Chicago Bears in a 4:25 pm ET kick-off this Sunday, and frankly, Mike Smith’s club could be playing for their season. At 2-3, Atlanta is within earshot of a playoff run, but as mentioned above, this team is going to have issues executing on the road, and it would be a major blow to morale (and yet another dip in ESPN’s poll) if the Falcons were to drop a home game, even against a multi-talented Bears team.

Stay tuned throughout the week for more on the Atlanta Falcons, including wall-to-wall coverage of this Sunday’s game in the Georgia Dome.