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Your Atlanta Falcons have advanced to the NFC Conference Championship Game, and with Green Bay’s impressive last second win against the Dallas Cowboys last night, the Packers will be their opponents. The oddsmakers are already all over this one, and they like the NFL’s best offense.
Falcons favored by 4.5 points over Packers in NFC title game.
— OddsShark (@OddsShark) January 16, 2017
This is a pretty easy call, frankly. The Falcons just hung 36 points on the Seahawks, their defense came up big, they’re at home, and the Packers could be without Davante Adams and Jordy Nelson. There are no guarantees, but I can’t really see an argument against favoring Atlanta.
As we’ll discuss plenty throughout the week, this is the matchup that made me most nervous, and it’s primarily because Aaron Rodgers is a wizard and the Packers have just enough everywhere else to stay in a shootout and win it at the end. The Falcons should be favored, given the circumstances, their hugely impressive season, and the fact that they’re home, but I’m not going to look you in the eye and tell you I’m not apprehensive about the game ahead.
With any luck, the Falcons will reward this faith and win by at least 4 points. Preferably many more.