The Falcons come off a divisional victory and an extra period of rest after playing on Thursday night. This is the last game the Birds have before the bye week, so they’re in for another long period of rest after it.

The next opponent to step onto the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf will be the Denver Broncos, who are coming off of an exhilarating comeback win against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos sit at 3-4 and really need this victory to continue their momentum toward a potential playoff run. They have won three of their last four games.

Let’s dive into the major what if scenario this week, looking at the circumstances surrounding the Falcons if they win against Denver and looking at if they lose, now that football is less than 24 hours away from being played again.

If the Falcons win

They’ll have strung together back to back wins for the first time this season, while at the same time registering their first home victory of the campaign as well.

Raheem Morris has the most to gain from Falcons victories at this point. A win on Sunday moves his record as Atlanta’s interim coach to 3-1 — and if not for a Todd Gurley accidental touchdown and subsequent defensive collapse he would be looking to move his interim record to 4-0 — the team has certainly taken a step forward since the coaching change.

I won’t even entertain any discussion of the playoff picture right now, but if the Falcons can win this game and if they can beat the Saints on the other side of the bye, then that discussion will become less taboo.

The Birds fell to sixth place in the draft order with last Thursday’s win. They also fell from the ranks of the 1-win teams, and a win this Sunday could drop them to the back end of the top 10, depending on other results around the league.

If the Falcons lose

They’ll move another step closer to getting mathematically eliminated from all playoff scenarios. Elimination will pretty much be a foregone conclusion at that point, if it’s not already.

They will move to 2-7 going into the bye week. A year ago, they were 1-7 going into the bye week and 2-7 after nine games. It’s a harsh reality when a veteran team that’s in “win now” mode has a terrible season and one year later ends up in the exact same position.

The Falcons will at the very least re-enter the top five regarding draft standings. Atlanta is actually tied for fifth right now with the Dallas Cowboys, who are also just 1.5 games back in the abomination of a division that we call the NFC East.

The Texans and the Jaguars (who are both sitting at 1-6 and are in the top 5) play each other this weekend. Atlanta will surpass the winner of that game in the draft order standings.