The Falcons have now won or lost four of their five games by less than seven points

The Falcons could, with a small handful of plays going their way, be 5-0 right now. Their two losses have been by a combined nine points, and if...

• ...the Bills didn’t get credit for a fumble that probably wasn’t a fumble which turned into a touchdown, which gave them the winning margin and then some....
• ...and the Falcons had gotten Matt Bryant a little closer for his 59 yard field goal, not committed a penalty on Deion Jones’ second interception, or not had Austin Hooper drop a pass that turned into an interception...

...we’d be talking about them like a flawed but exciting team that was still undefeated. These are all facts, folks.

Oh, also, the Falcons could, with a small handful of plays going the other way, be 1-4 right now. Two of their wins came by a combined ten points, and if...

• ...they don’t get a miracle sack on Mike Glennon to cap off the Bears game....
• ...or Golden Tate doesn’t fall just short of the end zone and the Falcons get a runoff...

...we’d be giving real credence to the idea of spooky curses and Super Bowl hangovers and rueing this lost season. In October. These are all facts, folks.

My point here is that the Falcons have been involved in far too many close games. The team that blew the doors off the Saints and Panthers in the early going a year ago and managed one touchdown wins over the Raiders and Broncos just isn’t here. They’re playing better defense, sure, but that defense is still marred by cringeworthy mistakes and a lack of the kind of turnovers that make life easier for everyone. The offense has faced solid defenses but looks like an absolute shell of the squad that dismantled the NFL a year ago. Their record could be 5-0 or it could be 1-4, but this team clearly cannot keep playing like this and make a deep playoff run, and they may not even be able to make it to the playoffs.

The what ifs are fun (or depressing) to think about, but the reality is that we have a 3-2 team here that’s playing below the level of its talent. That needs to change in a hurry.