Perhaps most important for the Falcons, of their remaining nine games, only two — against the Arizona Cardinals and the Giants — come against teams that have winning records. In a scheduling quirk, they still have five of their six division games to go, including two against the cratering New Orleans Saints and one against the one-win Carolina Panthers. The game against the Giants, on Dec. 16 in Atlanta, seems likely to be critical for both teams’ playoff positioning.

By then, the Falcons might be known more for playoff potential than playoff plummets. But as their buses rolled toward the airport Sunday night and the Falcons looked forward to watching film of the Eagles game, they were savoring what could be their last few weeks under the radar.

“I hope it stays that way,” McClure said. “I’m sure it will come to a point where they’ll start talking about us. The only time we really want them talking about us is in February.”

Manning’s Comeback

Peyton Manning has tried very hard to limit expectations this season, but after the Broncos dismantled the New Orleans Saints, Manning’s cause is hopeless. The Broncos are the fastest-rising team in the N.F.L. and could soon challenge the Texans as the best team in the A.F.C.

Manning is having a throwback season: he has thrown 17 touchdown passes and just 4 interceptions, with a completion percentage of 68.5. Does he throw the occasional knuckleball now? Yes, as he did on a short touchdown pass Sunday night. Manning’s arm strength is going to be dissected for the rest of the season, but the reality is this: Manning is placing the ball as well as ever, he is jelling with his receivers and he is playing with an increasingly impressive defense, which relieves some of the pressure he often faced in Indianapolis to be perfect.

“I’ve had an injury,” Manning said late Sunday night. “I’m a different player coming off the injury — I’m on a different team — and so I’m just working on kind of finding my way, and our team is finding our way. I keep mentioning finding our identity, and we’re starting to form it. I still think there are some things we need to improve on and we’re going to build off this win — build some consistency as an offense and hopefully I can just continue to just make strides and be on the same page as the receivers.”

Manning can probably abandon any hope of playing down his performance. Nobody in the N.F.L. is worrying about Manning anymore, except for the more familiar concern about how to stop him. Even Manning acknowledged that he is scoreboard watching in the division. At 4-3, the Broncos have just a one-game lead on San Diego, but it feels like much more.

And one more thing: after going 3-3 through a brutal six-game opening stretch, the Broncos are gaining steam just as their schedule weakens. Of their remaining opponents, only the Baltimore Ravens (Dec. 16) have a winning record, and Manning might salivate at the chance to face their injury-riddled defense.