The Atlanta Falcons' 14-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week was the first time they lost a game in regulation since December 13, 2009 - a span of eight games. This week, the 2-3 Cincinnati Bengals and Chad Ochocinco's bravado will be welcomed to the Georgia Dome. Do the experts like the 4-2 Falcons' chances this week?
Source | Winner | Notes |
ESPN Consensus | Falcons | Eight out of 10 experts like the Falcons to win at home with Eric Allen and Adam Schefter picking the Bengals on the road. |
Yahoo Sports Consensus | Pick 'Em | It's a 2-2 split among the Yahoo voters with Les Carpenter and Jason Cole in the Bengals' corner and Michael Silver and the public vote going with the Falcons. |
CBS Sports Consensus | Falcons | A clean sweep for the Falcons as all five experts pick Atlanta for the second straight week. |
Fanhouse | Falcons | Dave Goldberg foresees a projected score of Falcons 24, Bengals 13. |
What If Sports | Bengals | Projection reveals a one-point Bengals win, 22-21. |
Sports Illustrated | Falcons | Peter King: Stat of the Week: Matt Ryan is 15-1 at the Georgia Dome, and Michael Turner rushes for 104 yards per game at the Georgia Dome. Factoid of the Week That Should Interest You: This game is at the Georgia Dome. |
USA Today | Falcons | Seven of eight experts think the Falcons will move to 5-2 while only Jon Saraceno believes the Bengals emerge victorious. |
Sporting News | Falcons | Six of seven experts predict a Falcons victory in the Georgia Dome. Only Steve Greenberg likes the Bengals in the upset. |
Over 81% of the experts (30 of 37) like the Falcons to bounce back and move to 5-2. The Bengals haven't been overly impressive this season, save for the win against the Baltimore Ravens, but the Falcons can't overlook them. The loss last week to the Eagles guarantees that won't happen. As Peter King pointed out, Matt Ryan owns the Georgia Dome and Michael Turner is my fantasy start of the week. Five up and two down into the bye week, that has a nice ring to it.