Jaguars vs Falcons: Why Atlanta, Matt Ryan Will Right Ship on Thursday Night

It's a must-win game for the Falcons, because although they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Detroit Lions, if the Lions and Bears both win and Atlanta loses, they're back on the outside looking in.

Atlanta does not have the tiebreaker over Chicago, but has a one-game lead on the Bears, so keeping them at bay while maintaining at least the same record as Detroit is key. Jacksonville at this point, obviously has no playoff opportunity.

However, they'll definitely be playing the spoiler role because ruining someone else's season always salvages your's just a little bit. Hence, don't expect Jacksonville to roll over as they have something to play for.

As for the game itself, the Falcons rarely lose at home and the Jaguars have struggled on the road all season, so here is why Atlanta get the victory in Week 15.

Jaguars' Injuries

According to the Joey Farbo of Rant Sports, Jacksonville has an abundance of injuries:

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"This is the fifth consecutive week in which the Jaguars have lost players to the injured reserve list. The Jaguars have now placed a total of 27 players on the injured reserve list during the 2011 season, more than half of an active NFL roster."

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That being said, it's simply too much for any one team to overcome on a weekly basis. Yes, the Packers won the Super Bowl last season with numerous players on the IR, but it wasn't 27 players.

In turn, Atlanta is a much more healthy team from an all-encompassed perspective, so we can't really expect much from a Jacksonville team that wouldn't be much better than 4-9 even without injuries.

Let's face it RB Maurice Jones-Drew is all they have.

Jacksonville Passing Offense

Injuries aside, the Jaguars simply lack a lot of talent especially on offense. Take MJD out of the equation and there's literally not one dangerous player on this offense, nor would any of them start for another team (except maybe St. Louis).

Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert may be looking like a bust however, before we're quick to judge, let's get the guy at least one decent WR to target.

It's a big reason why the Jags' rank dead last in passing offense (average just 140.8 per game) and you also can't expect a lot from a rookie QB either. This would be a completely different offense if they had one WR who could consistently stretch the field as that opens everything else up.

Falcons Balanced Offense

The great thing about Atlanta's offense is their ability to throw or run the ball at will and have success. There's weapons everywhere you look and it all is setup very nicely. Matt Ryan may not be considered a gunslinger like Drew Brees however, he can air it out all day when needed.

And when he does dish the rock around, there's TE Tony Gonzalez, WRs Julio Jones and Roddy White, and then Harry Douglas on occasion. To this end, RB Michael Turner is one of the better, but unknown, backs in the game.

He's a punishing back with great acceleration and is the glue holding this offense together. Any time Turner has success, the odds significantly increase for The Dirty Birds.

Falcons 34, Jaguars 14

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27