The combination of the Falcons' stunning comeback win at Carolina, coupled with the Tim Tebow led 13-10 Denver comeback against Chicago allowed Atlanta to climb one spot in the NFC Playoff picture, moving from the No. 6 seed to the No. 5 seed, where, barring a monumental collapse by the New Orleans Saints, the Falcons will stay if they win out the regular season.
For three weeks Atlanta had been sitting at the No. 6 seed, where they would hypothetically play at the No. 3 seeded NFC South Champion Saints in the wild card round. By moving up to the No. 5 spot, Atlanta would now travel to the No. 4 seed NFC East Champion, which switched from Dallas to New York after the Giants' 37-34 win Sunday night.
With three games remaining - a short-week turnaround hosting Jacksonville this Thursday night, at New Orleans on December 26 and hosting Tampa Bay on New Year's Day - the Falcons could finish 11-5 and not host a playoff game if New Orleans can't be caught. To win the division, the Falcons would need to win out (beating the Saints) and have New Orleans drop their season finale to Carolina January 1 to win a tiebreaker determined by division records.
For more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. For everything NFL, visit SB Nation's NFL page.