Let's establish a few facts here. First, the Falcons are 13-3, a record good enough to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC this year. Second, Matt Ryan had won 90 percent of his home games as quarterback of the Falcons, who will be hosting the showdown with the Packers on Saturday. And finally, those home games include a 20-17 win against Green Bay in Week 12.
ESPN (And The Packers) Vs. The Falcons In NFL Divisional Round
Now, Green Bay does seem to be getting hot at the right time of the year, and they are certainly a good team. But if you feel that ESPN has been a bit Packer-friendly this week -- well, it’s not entirely your fault. Of eight “experts” who are actual persons listed on the ESPN picks page, six chose the Packers. Of the four Sunday Countdown personalities who put their predictions online? Three.
So three-quarters of these ESPN-dubbed experts chose the team with the worse record playing on the road against a quarterback who has lost 10 percent of his home games and defeated the same opponent a month and a half ago.
Now, no one is going to say that everyone in Bristol should pick the Falcons. In fact, Packers fans would be able to rightly complain if there was a near clean sweep for Atlanta, given some of the very reasons that the commentators are now going with Green Bay. But the en masse endorsement of Green Bay’s chances point more toward the factors that hold sway in the minds of ESPN analysts -- momentum, a strong support of the name brands in any sport and an interest in the latest flashy object -- than they say about Saturday’s game.
Which is probably just fine by Falcons fans. After all, the network has been either down on or dismissive of Atlanta all year long. Looking at all the reasons that you might expect more people to be selecting the Falcons, you’d have to say it’s turned out pretty well for them so far.
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