What happens if the Falcons win/lose against the Eagles on Monday Night Football

A victory puts this season very much back on track.

After a disappointing Week 1 loss, expectations for the Atlanta Falcons are already diminished, at least in the short term. Nobody’s particularly optimistic they’re going to walk into Philadelphia against a good Eagles team and come away with a win, but man, we sure do hope.

The Falcons haven’t had a primetime game in a long time, Kirk Cousins isn’t known as a prolific passer under the lights, and the Falcons offense looked brutal against Pittsburgh. On the flip side, their defense held up well against Pittsbur

Here’s what’s at stake, from a perception and standings perspective, in the game ahead.

If the Falcons win

Things will feel much, much better. At 1-1, the Falcons will be in the thick of the NFC South race in the early going, and will have just knocked off a legitimate NFC contender on the road in primetime with the Chiefs game looming. That would be a drastic improvement over what we saw against the Steelers in Week 1, even if the game winds up being something of a slopfest, and it would help erase anxieties about this team.

For the fanbase, it would be a sign that our preseason optimism was not misplaced. That will especially be true if the Falcons improve drastically on offense, getting the passing game going after that worrying Week 1. If the defense holds up against Philly’s cast of playmakers, that’s a sign they’re for real, and not just a group that can feast on lesser lights.

The Falcons will also have their first win on the road in Philadelphia in a little bit, and will help Kirk Cousins shake that “doesn’t excel in primetime” reputation he has cultivated all these years.

If the Falcons lose

They will be sitting at 0-2, a mark no one wants or needs. A little over 10% of teams with that mark actually end up making the playoffs, which tells you it’s tough to dig out of that hole, and 0-3 is even more stark. With the Chiefs up next after the Eagles, the Falcons will be starting down the barrel of a difficult-to-surmount start.

Depending on how and why they lose, this will either be a slightly discouraged fanbase or a panicking one. After the team spent the week assuring us they have a plan for fixing the offense and that Kirk Cousins is healthy, another anemic effort on that side of the ball will have people freaking out with considerable justification. If they lose a close, hard-fought one, it’ll be much easier to chalk things up to an improved team facing a very tough opponent.

There’s a good chance, too, that the Falcons will be down two full games in the NFC South to kick things off. If that’s the case, it puts an even bigger spotlight on those early season games against the Saints and Buccaneers.