Falcons vs. Giants: Why Atlanta's Road Record Will Set Them Up for Failure

The Atlanta Falcons have some good news and bad news when it comes to playing on the road this season. 

The good news is that they have played several top-notch opponents in some of the most hostile locations in the league: Chicago (with Cutler and Forte) at Soldier Field, New Orleans in the Superdome, Detroit at Ford Field and Houston in Reliant Stadium.  Facing playoff caliber teams on the road should come as nothing new to the Falcons. 

The bad news is that they only won one of those games, a 23-16 win over the Lions, and that was two-and-a-half months ago.  On top of that, they have a couple of seriously sketchy results against teams they should have made easy work of: a three-point loss to Tampa Bay and a two-point win over Seattle.

The road has not been a friendly place for the Falcons this season, to say the least. 

Fortunately for Atlanta fans, however, the New York Giants have been almost as underwhelming at home this season.  Their 4-4 record at MetLife Stadium includes losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins, both teams which are vastly inferior to the Falcons.  So it’s certainly possible that the Giants' lackluster tendencies at home could trump the road struggles of the Falcons.

However, the Giants have already essentially played a home playoff game this season, with their resounding beat down of the Dallas Cowboys last week to clinch a spot in the postseason.  The Falcons, however, struggled mightily in their final three road games, with a loss to the Houston Texans with a rookie QB in his first start, a ho-hum win over the Carolina Panthers and a no-show blowout against the New Orleans Saints. 

The Giants are obviously far closer to the Texans and Saints in terms of quality than to the Panthers.

The Giants are far from trustworthy at home, both this season and in postseasons past.  However, I think they have the upward trending momentum of coming off of a statement win over a division rival last week in a must-win game. 

The Falcons have not really shown much lately on the road, and I think that may give some fairly good insight into what to expect from Sunday's game.