Packers/Falcons an Oddly Meaningless Matchup Given Rivalry’s Recent HIstory

Most meetings between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons over the last eight years or so have had some sort of significance—two contenders jockeying for playoff position, a whole lot of scoring and many intense battles.

But this time, it’s different. The Falcons enter 4-8, the Packers 4-7-1, and both teams are in the unfamiliar position of being out of it with a month left of regular season to go.

A successful stretch

In the wake of the firing of Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, much has been made of Green Bay’s uninterrupted streak of success through most of his coaching tenure. But the Falcons, too, have had some good fortune lately, and since the drafting of Matt Ryan in 2008 have…