After a grueling game against the Saints, the Falcons have the closest thing they’ll get to a bye week the rest of the way, since they next play agains the Buccaneers on Monday night. That means that Andy Levitre, who missed Thursday’s game, has a week and a half to get back to full health. It also means that Tevin Coleman, who just entered the league’s concussion protocol, has more than a week to get ready to play.
Neither one is guaranteed to be back, but this extended layoff could not possibly have come at a better time. The Atlanta Falcons are a team that still has not ironed out issues of execution, and thus their margin of error is still pretty thin, even in games against struggling teams like the Buccaneers. They could really use a team that’s at full health or close to it over the last three regular season games, and they’re lucky the schedule aligned in such a way that it might actually be possible.
So we’ll cross our fingers and hope that Coleman and Levitre are ready to go. A 9th win against the Bucs on Monday night would put the Falcons in a stellar position for their final two, and both could be integral pieces in that effort.