CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three down. Three to go.
The Atlanta Falcons are well on track to completing their goal for the 2024 season: outrun the NFC South.
On Sunday, the Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers with a decisive 38-20 victory at Bank of America Stadium. The win marked Atlanta's third in a row, an accomplishment that hasn't happened since 2019, and kept the Falcons undefeated in the division.
"We talk about outrunning the south," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. "You get a chance to get three wins in the south in back-to-back fashion. That is always awesome, and that's what we want to be about."
The Falcons' 3-0 division record and 4-2 overall record place them atop the NFC South standings heading into Week 7. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) are second with a 1-1 division record. The New Orleans Saints (2-4) are then third with a 1-2 record, and the Panthers (1-5) are last with 0-2 mark.
"To go 3-0 in your division is huge," Falcons tight end Charlie Woerner said. "It gives you all the confidence going forward."
And it came after a slight confidence hit.
Before the three-game run, the Falcons lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 22-17.
"We played that Sunday night game against Kansas City; we lose a close one and we're kind of pissed off about it," Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews said. "But Raheem comes right in and he goes, 'Hey, division's coming up. Let's get back to what we were saying we're going to do and win these next three games. I think we'll be happy where we're at.' And it's exactly what happened."
As a quick refresher, the Falcons beat the Saints, 26-24, on Sept. 29 and the Buccaneers, 36-30, on Oct. 3. The Falcons-Saints outcome was decided by a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. The Falcons-Buccaneers game was determined in overtime when wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge broke free for a 45-yard touchdown reception. Both came down to the wire, unlike Sunday.
The Falcons' 18-point margin of victory against the Panthers is easily their largest of 2024, considering all five of their previous games were one-score nail-biters. That was surely another confidence booster.
"At the end of the day, our goal is to make the playoffs, so I think it definitely helps our case," Falcons left guard Matthew Bergeron said. "But we also know that we have to go in and keep treating every game like it's our last one and keep on winning. It's still early in the season. It's only my second year, but I realized the NFL is a really long season, so we just got to keep on pushing."
Atlanta hasn't made the playoffs since the 2017 season, when it lost in the divisional round. That's also the last time the Falcons finished the season with a winning record.
The Falcons' next divisional game is Week 8, a road rematch against the Buccaneers. The Saints then host Atlanta for Week 10. The last game against the Panthers comes in Week 18, the regular-season finale inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Before any of that can happen, the Falcons must welcome the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.
"Why not just keep winning?" Morris said. "Why not us? Somebody's got to do it."
Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium during Week 6, presented by Grady.