Winner of Atlanta Falcons-Carolina Panthers game will make the postseason — with a losing record

ATLANTA (AP) — The Panthers-Falcons winner-take-all game for the NFC South title is a strange affair.

It’s highly unusual for two teams with losing records to play for a division title on the final weekend of the regular season. The winner of Sunday’s game between the Falcons (6-9) and Panthers (6-8-1) will become the NFL’s first playoff team with a losing record since Seattle took a 7-9 record to the postseason in 2010.

The Falcons have remained in contention by winning their first five games against NFC South opponents, including a 19-17 victory at Carolina last month.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who grew up in the Atlanta area, is hoping for a replay of the Panthers’ 21-20 win at the Georgia Dome in Week 17 last season. That win gave Carolina the NFC South title. Now the Panthers will be playing for a repeat.

Newton insisted his Atlanta homecoming provides no special motivation.

“It’s just like any other game,” Newton said. “Getting a win is the only thing that matters to me. The other fluff, that’s not important to me. I just want to get the win.”

The weak NFC South has prompted criticism of the NFL’s playoff format. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said the players are just trying to take advantage of the opportunity.

“Regardless of what the record is, we don’t worry about it,” Ryan said. “We don’t worry about what happened the last 15 games. All that matters is going forward, and I think guys have had that mindset and bought into that mindset.

“This is what you work so hard for in the offseason and during training camp, to have opportunities like this late in the year where everything is on the line. That’s fun. I think guys are going to enjoy the moment.”

Falcons coach Mike Smith’s future in Atlanta may be on the line. A win Sunday might not be enough to save his job. Atlanta is bound for its second straight losing record after five consecutive winning seasons under Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

The Panthers appear to have the advantage of better health. The Falcons lost a starting defensive back to injured reserve for the second straight week when safety William Moore was lost with a shoulder injury.

Carolina has a short injury list.

“It’s nice,” said Carolina coach Ron Rivera. “We’re very fortunate, getting healthy at the right time, and hopefully it pays dividends going forward.”

Falcons running back Steven Jackson left last week’s win at New Orleans with a quadriceps injury. He has missed practice this week, leaving his status in doubt.