The Atlanta Falcons have scored a grand total of three combined points in their past two games. In what has become an offense happy, passing-first league, that’s an insanely difficult feat for any team to accomplish.

Fresh off of their embarrassment at the hands of the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, the Falcons got some extra rest ahead of their next game against the serial struggling Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Falcons sit at 4-6, while the Jags are once again having a rough time of it this season, sporting a 2-8 record and currently residing in the cellar of the AFC South (a spot they’re very familiar with).

Let’s take a look at the circumstances surrounding the Falcons if they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12, as well as looking at the scenario if they lose.

If the Falcons win

Technically the Falcons are just one game out of the playoff picture and are currently in the hun...(gets tomatoes hurled in my direction) okay okay, I promise not to even mention anything related to the playoffs for the rest of this article.

A win would put the Falcons back on track, somewhat. After consecutive shellackings, there’s nothing that locker room is more desperate for than to attain some success on the football field. The Jaguars have served as a “get right” game for teams for the better part of the past decade, and the Falcons are in need of getting right.

The Birds will move their road record to 4-2, and their record away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium to a glistening 5-2 on the season. It’s very unique that a team is so good on the road, yet unable to do anything in their home stadium.

Atlanta will also move themselves out of last place in the division if either the Panthers lose to the Dolphins or the Saints lose to the Bills.

If the Falcons lose

Any semblance of competitiveness for the rest of the season will be out the window. This is one of the two games over the course of the rest of the season that you should be able to chalk up as “easy” (the other being the Lions), and to lose it would be demoralizing and catastrophic.

Atlanta would currently be picking 9th in the NFL Draft if the season were to end today. Their current strength of schedule of .451 is the weakest in the NFL, which bodes very well for them as this is what’s looked at to break draft order ties (teams with weaker schedules get the higher pick). A defeat could move them up to as high as 5th, depending on how the teams behind them in the standings do this weekend.

Matt Ryan will have suffered his first career defeat to the Jaguars. He’s thus far 3-0 against the team from Central Florida. The Jags would also tie the all time head to head series with the Falcons at 4-4.