Monday Night Football Week 14: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Falcons vs. Packers

Monday night's showdown between the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons and the 9-3 Green Bay Packers may actually be a playoff preview.

Yes, you read that right. The Falcons may be 5-7, but the NFC South doesn't feature a single team with a winning record. Atlanta may even have the inside track for the division crown because it is a perfect 4-0 against the rest of the division.

Unfortunately for Matt Ryan and company, playing Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Lambeau Field is a major step up in competition from the NFC South. There is not a team in the NFL playing better football than Green Bay as we enter the stretch run of the season.

Here is a look at the essential information for the game and a preview.

Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers

Date: Monday, Dec. 8

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN 

Odds: Packers -14 (via Odds Shark, as of Sunday at 11 a.m. ET)

Preview

The Packers may be the hottest team in football with eight wins in their last nine, but the Falcons have won three of their last four to get back into the playoff race. However, that won't help Atlanta stop Rodgers.

Coming into Week 14, the Packers were second in the NFL with 31.7 points per game, and the Atlanta defense was 22nd in scoring at 24.9 points allowed per game. Considering Rodgers has 20 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last six home games, that is not a great combination.

The prospect of arguably the NFL's best quarterback going up against the league's worst secondary should be terrifying for Atlanta fans. The Falcons are dead last in the league against the pass and have to face the combination of Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and the emerging threat of Davante Adams.

We know about Nelson and Cobb, who have a combined 20 touchdown catches and could be the best one-two receiver punch in the league. The fact that they have Rodgers throwing them the ball certainly helps the statistics, but both are more than capable of blowing past defenders on deep routes or making people miss and moving the chains underneath.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The presence of Adams, who racked up 121 receiving yards in the last game against the New England Patriots, makes this offense all the more potent. With opposing defenses so focused on stopping Nelson and Cobb, Adams has plenty of room to operate.

Louis Riddick of ESPN believes Adams is an underrated pass-catching option:

Atlanta coach Mike Smith certainly understands the challenge ahead of his team, according to STATS LLC, via ESPN.com:

"

It's a big challenge for us this week with Aaron Rodgers. No doubt, he's playing the best of any quarterback in the NFL right now. He's got a number of weapons he can get it to.

He's played extremely well at home. I don't think he's thrown an interception at home this season, and I don't even want to talk about how many points they've scored.

"

The Falcons will need to devote almost all of their defensive resources to stopping the pass, which means Eddie Lacy could have some holes in the running game. Lacy has played his best football as of late and combined for 223 rushing yards and a touchdown the previous two games.

Atlanta is not exactly formidable against the run, either (21st in the league entering Week 14), so look for a big game from Lacy.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The best chance for the Falcons, given their defensive problems, is to turn this into a shootout. The offensive line is patchwork at best, which is a major reason why the team averages fewer than 100 rushing yards a game. Atlanta does its best work through the air with Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White and was sixth in the league in passing yards per game coming into Week 14.

However, Green Bay's defense is much improved from what fans saw earlier in the season. It has allowed an average of 17.3 points per game the past four weeks and appears ready for the stretch run.

The best way to attack the Packers is on the ground, and not just because they were 28th in the league against the run and 11th against the pass coming into Week 14. Consistently running the ball against Green Bay keeps the clock moving and arguably the league's most dangerous offense on the sidelines.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Rodgers, Nelson, Cobb and Lacy can't hurt the opponents if they are watching the game with their helmets in their hands.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, it is not built to beat teams on the ground. That, combined with the incredible mismatch between Rodgers and the Falcons secondary, will ultimately determine the outcome of the game. 

Prediction: Packers 38, Falcons 21

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