ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons actually have a shot at a winning streak. Ditto for the Detroit Lions, who haven't won back-to-back games in more than a year.
At the moment, that's the sole focus for these struggling teams that meet Sunday in Atlanta: Two in a row.
"I stopped looking at the standings about three weeks ago," Falcons running back Todd Gurley said with a chuckle. "Just focus on the next week and the rest will take care of itself."
Atlanta began its season with five straight losses, in the process becoming the first team in NFL history to lose consecutive games after leading by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter. That led to the firing of coach Dan Quinn, who was replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
The Falcons responded to the coaching change with an impressive 40-23 victory last Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings.
"The guys are adopting this 1-0 mentality," said Morris, who hopes to work his way into the mix as Quinn's permanent replacement. "Everybody I see just keeps saying, 'Hey, let's go 1-0 again.'"
Coming off their open date, the Lions romped to a 34-16 road victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, improving to 2-3 and finally showing they could hold a double-digit lead. Detroit has not had a winning streak since the second and third weeks of the 2019 season.
"That's good for everybody just to have a little bit of confidence in some of the things we were doing, and be able to see it and honestly see what I would call 'two weeks of work' really show up in a game," said Matt Patricia, who is facing questions about his future in his third year as coach of the Lions.
Similar to the Falcons, Detroit squandered leads of 17, 14 and 11 points in its three losses. Time off provided a chance to reset.
"We thought it was a really good time for us to grind it out and really take a look at the first four games," Patricia said.
Both teams can cling to the hope that better days are ahead. The Lions are heading into what appears to be the easier part of their schedule. The last-place Falcons have played only one game against NFC South opponents.
"There's always light at end of the tunnel," Gurley said.
Matt Ryan saw that against the Vikings. After going 30 consecutive possessions without a touchdown pass, the Falcons' veteran starter got back on track by completing 30 of 40 attempts for 371 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, leading to his selection as NFC offensive player of the week.
With wide receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley at his disposal, Ryan may have a chance for another big day. The Lions allowed Jacksonville's Keelan Cole to catch six passes for 143 yards.
"There's still a lot of work to do," Ryan said. "We've got to find a way to get the job done this week. Every week, there's a new set of challenges."
Gurley, the former University of Georgia and Los Angeles Rams standout in his first season with Atlanta, had his best game as a Falcon by rushing for 121 yards and adding 29 receiving yards at Minnesota. The Lions struggled to slow the run early in the season but held the Jaguars to just 44 rushing yards.
As for their own ground attack, the Lions may be moving toward the realization that rookie D'Andre Swift (like Gurley, he played for the Bulldogs) deserves the lead role over 35-year-old Adrian Peterson, one of the great runners in NFL history.
Although Peterson rushed for 93 yards at Jacksonville, Swift went for 116 - including a 54-yard burst that is the team's longest rushing play of the season - and scored two touchdowns.
Swift got off to a rough start this season when he dropped what could have been the winning touchdown catch in the final seconds of the opener against the Chicago Bears. He has bounced back from that blunder to rank second on the team with 16 catches and a rushing average of 6.1 yards per carry.