The Atlanta Falcons will look to continue their strong play and build momentum heading into the playoffs when they head to the motor city to face the Detroit Lions for a special Saturday night game at 8:20 pm ET.
The visiting Falcons can clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs by handing the Lions a seventh consecutive loss Saturday night.
Atlanta (12-2) went 13-3 in 2010 and 10-6 last season but lost its first playoff game each season. The Falcons also fell in Week 16 both seasons, but are poised to end that trend and build on Sunday's 34-0 rout of the New York Giants.
Matt Ryan was 23 of 28 for 270 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Giants. He's thrown six TDs and one pick in the last three games while posting a 102.7 passer rating -- third-highest in the NFL over that span.
Julio Jones caught two of the scores Sunday, giving him four TDs in the last four games. Michael Turner ran 16 times for 52 yards but found the end zone for a fifth straight game. Thomas DeCoud recorded his team-leading sixth interception as the Falcons held New York to 256 total yards en route to posting their first shutout since a 24-0 win at Oakland on Nov. 2, 2008.
Meanwhile, the Lions lost their previous five games by an average 5.2 points, managed 312 total yards -- 94.5 less than its NFC-leading average -- and two of Matthew Stafford's three interceptions were returned for TDs.
The only real bright spot for Detroit is star Calvin Johnson, who needs 182 yards to break Jerry Rice's single-season record of 1,848 receiving yards from 1995. Johnson, who caught 10 passes for 121 yards Sunday, has averaged 9.3 receptions and 147.0 yards over the last seven games. However, he only has five touchdowns all season.
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