South Gwinnett News

At 6-7 with four games remaining, the Atlanta Falcons set to face off against the San Francisco 49ers in a pivotal NFC match.

The Falcons will face the one-win Detroit Lions later in their season finale.

"Entering Sunday's Week 14 games, fivethirtyeight.com deemed the Falcons playoff chances at just 5%. But Atlanta's win, coupled with Washington's dramatic loss to the Cowboys, more than doubled the Falcons playoff chances to 12%," the team said on its website. 

Overall, the Falcons's remaining schedule deemed third easiest in the league by fivethirtyeight.com, which is part of the reason the team's playoff chances are on the rise. The Falcons recent win over the Carolina Panthers was also key to their improved playoff odds. A win over the 49ers this week could potentially cause an even bigger upswing in the Falcons playoff chances, according to the team's official website. 

A large number of 7 win teams in the NFC are competing for the final wild card playoff spot, making the 49ers game important as it will give the winner the tie breaker over the losing team in the race, according to the Falcons official website. The Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Washington Football Team are two other teams competing for the wild card spot. The Falcons have already lost to the Eagles and Washington Football team, making it vital for them to get the tie breaker advantage over one of the other teams in wild card contention. 

Front runners such as the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams have their playoff spots almost assured, with odds of at least 80% of making the playoffs, according to the Falcons official website. In fact, the Cardinals, Packers, Buccaneers and Cowboys have 99% chances of making the playoffs, respectively, a much easier road than what faces the Falcons.