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For much of the season, talk around the NFL from fans and the pontificators that cover it was that the Atlanta Falcons couldn't win the big game or couldn't really put away the bad teams. All season, the Falcons hadn't done much to dispel those feelings, beating the Carolina Panthers and Oakland Raiders by a field goal or less. Add in a loss to the New Orleans Saints and the Panthers in their second matchup of the season and the Falcons were viewed as weak.
That is until they stomped all over the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants 34-0 on Sunday at the Georgia Dome. After the game, wide receiver Roddy White told reporters the team used to talk about how good the other team was rather than focusing on beating them.
"We'd be saying, 'Oh, these guys can do this, they're a good football team.' We can't say we don't want to play them.
We can't say that. This year, it's a totally different team."
Atlanta has clinched the NFC South's top spot and a win this Saturday against the Detroit Lions would clinch the first overall seed in the conference. The Falcons finish the regular season the following week at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.