I’ll start by saying there’s no cop-out to the argument. The Atlanta Falcons don’t go into Week 17 thinking they’ll play starters, get a lead, and then start subbing in reserves. Dan Quinn is either fully committed to winning the 2-seed or he’s not at all. The New Orleans Saints certainly won’t come into the Georgia Dome and make things easy.
The big argument against the Falcons playing to win the 2-seed on Sunday is the risk of serious injury. It’s an understandable concern. Atlanta’s roster is the currently the healthiest it’s been since mid-November. We won’t see Desmond Trufant anytime soon, but he remains the only serious injury as of late.