Thursday night football is done for the season in the NFL, as we approach the final two weeks of the regular season. In fact, there is no more Monday Night Football either, with the Jets and Titans wrapping things up earlier this week.
What we do have in Week 16 of the season is a special edition of Monday Night Football on Saturday, December 22. Because of the fact that Monday falls on Christmas Eve next week, the NFL adjusted the schedule, with the Monday Night Football crew on Saturday.
It will be the Atlanta Falcons going on the road to Detroit to take on the Lions.
For the Falcons, they can lock up home-field and the No.1 seed in the NFC with a win. Atlanta is 12-2 on the season. Home-field advantage in the playoffs could be big for Atlanta, as the Falcosn are undefeated in the Georgia Dome. Of course, they have that luxury two seasons ago, and dropped in their first game to the Green Bay Packers.
But there is no doubt that this Falcons team has a bit of a different feel to it. For one, they have gone from a run-first team, to a pass-first team behind Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Tony Gonzalez. Atlanta has weapons all over the field, and defenses must respect the threats of all of those players.
It helps when running backs Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers get in on the action as well to help balance things out.
On the other side of the field, it’s been a disappointing season for Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and company. The Lions were expected to contend for the division after coming into the season after reaching the playoffs last season.
But the season hasn’t panned out quite like many thought, and Detroit has not chance to make the playoffs. There are just two games to go though, and a win over the team with the best record in the NFC would help build some confidence.
This could be a very entertaining game, as we will see how the Falcons secondary holds up against the passing attack of the Lions.