Falcons Playoff Hopes get Unfortunate Injury Boost

The Atlanta Falcons are heading into must-win territory for their remaining-five games. One of their future opponents lost a big piece of their defense.

The Atlanta Falcons line up against the New York Giants on December 22nd. / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

After dropping their third-straight game on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons are entering must-win territory in their remaining five games. At minimum they must go 3-2 against their remaining schedule including being underdogs at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The New York Giants are scheduled to come to Atlanta on December 22nd, and they’ll be without leading defensive player of the year candidate Dexter Lawrence. 

Lawrence exited Thanksgiving Day’s loss vs. the Dallas Cowboys with a season-ending “long-term” dislocated elbow injury per head coach Brian Daboll. 

#Giants potential defensive player of the year Dexter Lawrence, who suffered a dislocated elbow in the loss to the #Cowboys, is expected to miss the rest of the season, with Brian Daboll saying it’s “long-term.”

With 5 games to go, Lawrence has no choice but to look to 2025. pic.twitter.com/fQ68G3lZ7v

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 29, 2024

The 27-year-old Clemson football alum had a career high nine sacks through 11 games for the Giants (2-10), sixth most in the NFL. Considering that includes the 340-pound 1-Tech with edge rushers like Will McDonald and Trey Hendrickson it is otherworldly for Lawrence to have been playing at this level. 

Looking ahead to a December 22nd matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, what does this mean for the NFC South contending Dirty Birds? The Giants are so bad defensively that even with a freak like Dexy, they rank in the bottom half of the NFL in scoring and total defense. 

A newly healthy Falcons offensive interior (returning Center Drew Dalman from an 8-game IR hiatus) would not wish injury on an opponent. Having said that, they could not have timed up this good bill of health with the Giants’ diabolical diagnosis any better versus a respectfully nameless defensive line.

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The ball is dropping on the New York Giants’ 2024 season and Lawrence’s injury releases the sole light, missing just his second career game due to injury. 

The only reason it hasn’t rung in the New Year is because owner John Mara has not rightfully pulled the trigger in firing general manager Joe Schoen (particularly Schoen) and Daboll.

After Kirk Cousins threw away the Falcons’ chance of upsetting the Chargers on Sunday, beating the Giants becomes a must-win for Atlanta’s flickering playoff hopes.Lawrence’s injury, while unfortunate, does help the Falcons ultimate goal of winning the NFC South by clearing a rather large obstacle from the Giants’ defense.