Atlanta Falcons: How the Events of Their Bye Week Affect the Team

The Atlanta Falcons took on the unbeaten Bye in Week 8, and like all those who have come before them, they were unable to come out victorious.

The Bye has never lost, proving so dominant that the NFL stopped counting its contests a long time ago.

In all seriousness, with Tampa Bay (5-2) and New Orleans (5-3) winning, the week didn't provide the Falcons with any breathing room.

They still sit atop the NFC South, thanks to their 1-0 record in the division, and will get a chance to be the undisputed leaders when they face the Buccaneers in Week 9 (more on that later this week).

The New York Giants, whom Atlanta is currently battling for top spot in the conference, were also on a bye, so there was no ground to be gained or lost there, either.

What the week will do for the Falcons is allow some key players in Dunta Robinson, Thomas DeCoud, Sean Weatherspoon and Ovie Mughelli to get healthy, although it's unclear if Weatherspoon will regain his starting spot with the way Stephen Nicholas has been playing.

The coaching staff will also be able to look at what went wrong defensively against Philadelphia and Cincinnati, then translate that to the players in hopes of improving.

The offense was also clicking against those Bengals, taking more shots downfield and scoring 39 points.  If they can continue playing like that, opposing teams will be in trouble.

(For more detailed breakdowns of how the team has performed, go here for the offense and here for the defense.)

In actuality, the Falcons have a real shot to be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, and it's completely in their control to make that happen.

That should be their top priority in the second half of the season, as Matt Ryan has lost just once at home as a starter.

It's been a fun season so far.  Let's hope Atlanta can seal the deal and give us some postseason action.