matt ryan

The Atlanta Falcons represented the AFC in the Super Bowl last season. The Los Angeles Rams haven't played a playoff game since 2005, when they lost 47-17 to the Falcons. They were the St. Louis Rams at the point in franchise history. You have to go all the way back to 1989, their first tenure in L.A., to find a playoff game involving the Los Angeles Rams.

There's a dirty bird racing toward the Big Easy and it looms larger in the rear-view mirror of the New Orleans Saints with each passing week. The defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons are in a mood to retain their NFC South crown, and they are positioned well to do so. Win Sunday at New Orleans and again next Sunday against Carolina and the Falcons are once again champs.

Counted out by many when they sat 4-4 eight games into the NFL season, the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons have won four of their last five games to drive right back into contention for the NFC South title. In fact, if the Falcons sweep their remaining three games against division rivals the Buccaneers, Saints and Panthers, then Atlanta will retain the NFC South division crown earned a year ago.

Last week, the New Orleans Saints toppled the Carolina Panthers to move to the head of the class in the NFC South. Now they must deal with the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons to lock away the crown. The Saints and Falcons meet Thursday in Atlanta and again Dec. 24 in New Orleans, and in each of the past four seasons, the team that won the first game swept the series.

Are the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams to be taken seriously? Both have benefited from soft schedules to take control of their respective divisions - the Eagles in the NFC East and the Rams in the NFC West. But the true question remains, can they run with the big boys? As they face each other this week, both can take another step toward earning status as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

Like a giant boulder steamrolling down the side of a hill, the New Orleans Saints just keep picking up steam, and steamrolling everyone and everything in their path. Up next, a road test against NFC-West leading L.A. Rams. This will be another measure of the Saints' ability to overcome a challenge, but no one's stopped them yet, so betting against them would be a unwise choice to make.

Are the Atlanta Falcons finally starting to come around? Seemingly in a state of disarray ever since they blew their big lead and lost Super Bowl LI to New England, there was a definite hangover from that failure as the 2017 NFL season got underway, as the Falcons struggled to find their game. But last week in a decisive 27-7 win over Dallas, they looked like the defending NFC champs.

When was the last time a quarterback or running back did not win the NFL MVP Award? Keep looking, because the winner is legendary linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants, and the year is 1986. Defense wins championships, as the saying goes. But offensive stars put points on the board and they get most of the attention on the highlight reel.

The beautiful thing about the Super Bowl is that it is a one-game showdown, not a best-of-seven series as in the NHL, NBA and MLB. That means the best team on the day usually wins.