What Does It Mean If The Falcons Start 3-0?

What Does It Mean If The Falcons Start 3-0?
Fact Checked by Nate Hamilton

It’s been a banner start to the season for the upstart Atlanta Falcons, who have pulled off home wins over the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers to open the year. Looking forward, the Falcons enter their  Week 3 road opener against the 1-1 Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon with long odds of earning their third straight wins, with oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook giving Atlanta +155 odds of winning. Following the Falcons surprising 2-0 start, BetGeorgia.com broke from Georgia sportsbooks updates and utilized data from ChampsorChumps to see how every team to start 3-0 over the previous five seasons has ultimately fared.  

How NFL Teams Starting 3-0 Finish

Below is some information that Georgia sportsbook apps likely won't have in the future. Here’s where recent 3-0 squads have gone on the field in recent years.  

Year Team Final Record/Result
2022 Philadelphia Eagles 14-3, Lost in Super Bowl
2022 Miami Dolphins 9-8, Lost in AFC Wild Card Round
2021 Arizona Cardinals 11-6; Lost in NFC Wild Card Round
2021 Denver Broncos 7-10; Missed Playoffs
2021 Carolina Panthers 5-12; Missed Playoffs
2021 LA Rams 12-5; Won Super Bowl
2021 Las Vegas Raiders 10-7; Lost in AFC Wild Card Round
2020 Green Bay Packers 13-3; Lost in NFC Championship Game
2020 Kansas City Chiefs 14-2; Lost in Super Bowl
2020 Seattle Seahawks 12-4; Lost in NFC Wild Card Round
2020 Pittsburgh Steelers 12-4; Lost in AFC Wild Card Round
2020 Chicago Bears 8-8; Lost in NFC Wild Card Round
2020 Buffalo Bills 13-3; Lost in AFC Championship Game
2020 Tennessee Titans 11-5; Lost in AFC Wild Card Game
2019 New England Patriots 12-4; Lost in AFC Wild Card Game
2019 Dallas Cowboys 8-8; Missed Playoffs
2019 San Francisco 49ers 13-3; Lost in Super Bowl
2019 Kansas City Chiefs 12-4; Won Super Bowl
2019 LA Rams 9-7; Missed Playoffs
2019 Green Bay Packers 13-3; Lost in NFC Championship Game
2019 Buffalo Bills 10-6; Lost in AFC Wild Card Game
2018 LA Rams 13-3; Lost in Super Bowl
2018 Kansas City Chiefs 12-4; Lost in AFC Championship Game
2018 Miami Dolphins 7-9; Missed Playoffs

A 3-0 Start Would Be a Boost To Falcons Playoff Chances

It’s not farfetched to say that Atlanta should go ahead and plan on making the postseason given the Falcons playoff chances if they win this weekend, based on how recent 3-0 teams have fared at season’s end. Of the last 24 NFL teams to begin the season with three straight wins, 20 wound up making the playoffs, meaning a whopping 83.3% of those squads made the postseason. In the last five seasons, 41.7% of NFL teams that began the year 3-0 made it to their given conference’s championship round or further, while six of the last 10 Super Bowl teams started the season with a 3-0 record.  

For Atlanta, the franchise’s last 3-0 start was in 2017, when the Dan Quinn-coached club went 10-6, en route to a playoff run that saw them knock off the L.A. Rams (26-13) in the NFC Wild Card round, before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, 11-7, in the NFC Divisional round. Fast forward six years, and the 2023 Falcons led by third year head coach Arthur Smith are looking to make it back to the NFL playoffs — beginning with Sunday’s road clash with the Lions. The Falcons Super Bowl odds would see improved numbers as well.

 

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Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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