It’s been a roller coaster ride of a season for the Atlanta Falcons, who sit at 4-5 for the year with consecutive losses to the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings to overcome. Fresh off the team’s latest three-point home loss to the Vikings, Atlanta is tasked with joining the 27.6% of NFL teams that started the season 4-5 and still made the postseason, beginning with Sunday’s road game against the 1-8 Arizona Cardinals. Ahead of that Phoenix area Sunday matinee, it’s worth wondering what the odds are for the Falcons to make their first trek to the postseason since 2017 this fall.
To determine the Falcons playoff chances and more, BetGeorgia.com utilized Champ or Chumps to look at how teams ended up the rest of the NFL season after starting their season with a 4-5 record since the 2013 NFL season. There have been 58 teams that have started 4-5 in the last 10 seasons.
Performance Of NFL Teams Starting 4-5
Below are some odds that would be of good use if Georgia sports betting was legal. Stick with BetGeorgia.com for more Georgia sports stories like this and for the latest developments on sports betting.
Can Falcons Buck 4-5 Playoff Trend?
Since 2018, only 16 (or 27.6%) of 4-5 teams have gone on to reach the playoffs that season, with nine of those (15.5%) advancing past the Wild Card round and three (5.2%) winning the Divisional Round that season. Of those teams, none advanced so far as the Super Bowl, so the Falcons Super Bowl odds are slim, however, illustrating how difficult it is to advance in the NFL playoffs, especially when you’re starting from behind.
For Atlanta, the final nine regular-season games include home clashes with the Saints, Buccaneers, and Colts, offset by road trips to play the Cardinals, Jets, Panthers, Bears, and Saints. That road-heavy schedule is a key reason why oddsmakers from Caesars Sportsbook list Atlanta as the No. 2 favorite to win the NFC South, at +215, ranking behind the Saints (-175).
Atlanta will look to get back on track this weekend, however, with Caesars Sportsbook giving the Falcons solid odds (-125 and -1.5) to move to 5-5 for the year against the Cardinals.
