7 Pretty Solid Reasons Why the Falcons Will Beat the Packers

ATLANTA, GA -- With Championship Weekend upon us, it’s pretty clear that the NFL universe is divided on the winner of Falcons-Packers. We can help them with that.

The Falcons play the Packers Sunday at the Georgia Dome in the NFC Championship. It’s a chance to go to the Super Bowl for Atlanta, who hasn’t been to the big dance since the 1998 season behind the “Dirty Birds” and a veteran quarterback named Chris Chandler.

Here are seven reasons why the Falcons will make it to Super Bowl LI in Houston.

1. The Falcons secondary has been playing out of their mind: After Desmond Trufant went down with an injury, many people thought Atlanta would give up gobs of passing yards. But no, second-year corner Jalen Collins and rookie Brian Poole, an undrafted corner who coach Mike Quinn knew from the University of Florida, have turned in a masterpiece in the second half of the season.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Falcons-Packers

2. Jordy Nelson will be a nonfactor: The best wideout in green and yellow will likely be sitting on the sideline or severely limited. Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target, broke a couple ribs in the wildcard matchup vs. the New York Giants. He was held out of the Cowboys game, but the Packers won anyway. Now he has said he will play, but there’s just one problem: Ribs take six weeks to heal. Either Nelson is Superman or he will quickly learn in the first quarter that he can’t go the distance.

3. Green Bay likes to play catch-up: They were down 6-0 against the New York Giants two weeks ago, and should have been down by at least 14 points. Against Dallas, the Packers went to sleep in the fourth quarter until last-seconds heroics by Rodgers, averted a come-from-behind Cowboys victory. Don’t count on the Falcons starting slow or getting stale during the game. The NFL’s No. 1 offense knows how to keep the pedal to the metal. Look for a first half lead by Atlanta, that won’t be relinquished.

4. Green Bay is a beat-up team: Sure, the Packers have showed magic as of late, but the law of averages says that those injuries to mainstay players will catch up to you. Green Bay is beat up and hurting. Not only is Jordy Nelson hurt (see No. 2), but starting running back Eddie Lacy and Devonte Jackson are on injured reserve, Trevor Davis, a rookie receiver from Cal who caught two touchdown passes in recent weeks, is not on the team anymore. Further, swift running back John Starks hasn’t played a down in five games. It all catches up to them on Championship Sunday.

5. Outside of Micah Hyde, the Green Bay secondary is toast: He is a universal defender, but he can’t be everywhere. The former Iowa star will most likely cover Julio Jones for a good portion of the game, and unfortunately for him, he loses that matchup. Bad.

6. Julio is ready to go: Superstar wide receiver Julio Jones is nursing a bad toe, but don’t let the limp fool you, he’ll be ready come Sunday So, will his rejuvenated benefactor Matt Ryan. Jones, who initially hurt his toe in the Kansas City game, sat out the end of last week’s playoff win against Seattle. He has told media this week that he will play and that is bad news for Green Bay fans.

7. Vegas bettors are rarely wrong ... right?: OK, so they’re wrong often. That means nothing, because the Falcons are going to take care of business, but the line in Vegas, which has fluctuated greatly, is intriguing.

Opening Line: Falcons -4 points

Current Line: Falcons -4 points

Over/Under: 60.5 points

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