FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- None of players in the Atlanta Falcons' locker room wanted to mention the word "playoffs," despite the circumstances in front of them.

They know last Thursday night's win over the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints was crucial in the big picture. The Falcons are 8-5 with three games remaining, the same record they had at this juncture last season. In 2016, they put together a four-game winning streak to end the regular season, finished 11-5, earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye and then eventually advanced to the Super Bowl.

Right now, the Falcons hold the No. 6 seed and final wild-card spot after the Seattle Seahawks fell to 8-5 with a loss at Jacksonville. The Falcons hold the tiebreaker over the Seahawks as well as the Detroit Lions (7-6), Green Bay Packers (7-6), and Dallas Cowboys (7-6) after beating all four teams this season.

If the Falcons find a way to close the season with three consecutive wins over Tampa Bay (4-9), New Orleans (9-4) and current No. 5 seed Carolina (9-4), they would earn themselves a division title and home playoff game by sweeping the Saints and finishing with a better division record (5-1) than the Panthers if the Saints and Panthers finish 11-5 as well.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn insists he doesn't look at the big picture regarding playoff possibilities.

"We probably keep it shorter than that, like, 'We're going to throw a hell of a week getting ready to play Tampa,'" Quinn said, referring to next Monday night's road contest against the Buccaneers. "Outside, [the playoffs] is a conversation, for sure. That's human nature. But the best way for us to control the future is to play really well right now."

So what do the Falcons have to do to win the final three games? First and foremost, they need to take advantage of an extended rest coming off the Thursday night game to heal up.

Here are the keys to victories for the Falcons, who finish the season with three division games, including back-to-back road contests:

• At Tampa Bay: The Falcons can't underestimate Tampa, despite the Bucs' current three-game losing streak. Sure, the Falcons breeze by them, 34-20, back in Week 12. But this time, Jameis Winston, not Ryan Fitzpatrick, is the Buccaneers' quarterback, and Winston is 3-1 in his career against the Falcons. The Falcons can't afford to let Winston extend plays, and they have to limit Doug Martin, Peyton Barber, Charles Sims or whomever runs the ball for the Bucs. Offensively, the Falcons need to test Mike Smith's defense down the field again, since adjustments weren't made last time when Julio Jones went off for 253 yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches. The likelihood of no Gerald McCoy (biceps/shoulder) should make life easier on Matt Ryan.

• At New Orleans: This is probably the toughest of the last three games and will have an interesting sub-plot with the Devonta Freeman-Sean Payton storyline following Payton's choking gesture directed at Freeman. Following the same formula as last year's game in New Orleans when Freeman rushed for 152 yards and had another 55 yards receiving plus a touchdown reception while tag-team partner Tevin Coleman had three rushing scores certainly would benefit the Falcons, provided Coleman is fully recovered from a concussion. The Falcons benefited from the Saints' slew of injuries in last week's game and can't rely on that happening again. It will be much more challenging if Saints rookie running back Alvin Kamara is back healthy to team with Mark Ingram in the backfield. If so, the Falcons have stop the run first and be aware of Drew Brees engineering the screen game. Can New Orleans native Deion Jones come up big for the Falcons again?

• Vs. Carolina: Quinn begged for crowd noise at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to help beat the Saints. Just imagine what it would be like to have a 12th man-type atmosphere with a chance to win the division title. The Falcons know how physical the Panthers will be after losing at Carolina in Week 8. They can't afford to let Cam Newton average 9.6 yards per carry, like he did in the first meeting when he rushed for 86 yards and a score. And Jonathan Stewart, who went for 103 rushing yards and three touchdowns against the stingy Minnesota Vikings, might have his groove back. The Falcons simply have to take advantage of every scoring opportunity against one of the league's elite defenses, as offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian noted. They were 2-for-2 in the red zone in Charlotte and that still wasn't good enough.