The biggest question after the Falcons earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed and homefield advantage throughout the postseason with a 31-18 win over Detroit on Saturday didn’t have anything to do with how they would react in their third straight trip to the playoffs.

Instead, it revolved around what is now a largely meaningless game in the grand scheme of things against Tampa Bay: Will head coach Mike Smith play his starters against the Buccaneers?

Smith said during his press conference Sunday that the game is, in fact, important, as all division games are, and that the Falcons will prepare this week like they have for any other game.

“We’re going to play the game to win,” Smith said. “That’s how we’re going to approach it. It’s an important game because it’s a division game. All games, I think, are important. In terms of the importance of it, does it have no bearing? It really does, because we want to win every time we go out and play.”

Because of the No. 1 seed, the Falcons will have a first-round bye in the postseason, giving them an extra week to rest. Smith now has to tussle with whether two weeks off for his starters is more of a risk than playing them against Tampa Bay.

The Falcons are taking another brief rest this week as players have been given Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off. They’ll report back to Flowery Branch on Wednesday to begin preparations for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against Tampa in the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons haven’t exactly been the media darlings this season as plenty of experts continue to express their doubts and concerns about the 13-2 team heading into the playoffs.

After Saturday night’s 31-18 win over the Detroit Lions, the Falcons got a little bit of love on NFL Network this morning during “First on the Field.”

Here are a couple of the comments:

“They have passed every single test this year. They have been able to play well and win on the road – something they weren’t very good at last season. They have been able to win convincingly and they are still very good at home. When Matt Ryan is throwing the ball like he did against the Lions, this is a dangerous football team.” - Michael Lombardi on if the Atlanta Falcons are the best team in the NFC

“If Atlanta can improve their run defense – allow around 100 yards a game – they will be New Orleans-bound.” - Sterling Sharpe on the key to the Atlanta Falcons making it to the Super Bowl

Surrounded by reporters after Saturday night’s 31-18 win over the Lions, a game which saw Roddy White catch eight passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, the star wide receiver was asked about a knee injury that has either kept him out or limited him in practice the past two weeks.

White injured the knee during the 30-20 loss to Carolina two games ago. He missed practice Wednesday this week, but returned to limited participation Thursday and Friday. He said Saturday that the practice time he’s missed hasn’t affected him.

“Coach just wants me to go out there and be as healthy as possible,” White said. “If that’s not practicing, that’s not practicing. I’m just going through the game plan to get myself mentally prepared to play, just going out there and playing it. I’ve been playing for eight years, so I’m pretty good at it.”

The Falcons’ locker room after Saturday night’s 31-18 win over the Detroit Lions was the same as it had been all year after the previous 13 wins.

Happy. Loud. Fun.

One thing it wasn’t was celebratory.

It’s a sharp difference from two years ago when the Falcons earned the NFC’s top seed only to lose all the hope, expectations and a shot at that ultimate goal in their first postseason game that year.

It’s a lesson the Falcons learned the hard way: The top seed doesn’t win you anything. Sure, there’s homefield advantage and the easier road to the NFL’s final game, but the No. 1 seed in the NFC doesn’t lift a trophy until it earns one.

“Obviously, we know it doesn’t get you anything,” left tackle Sam Baker said. “We know that once you get in, everybody’s equal. We’ve got to prepare just like we’re the No. 6 seed.”

And the No. 6 seed doesn’t celebrate earning the sixth seed, nor will the Falcons celebrate the top seed in the NFC. For them, it’s all about getting back to work next week, seeing what the game plan is against Tampa Bay and then locking their focus in on the postseason.

The doubters will say they’ve heard that story before, but not in the previous two years have the Falcons had the kind of confidence, attitude and swagger that they do in 2012.

“This is a different team this year. This is a very different team from last year, from two years ago, from three years ago,” wide receiver Roddy White said. “Our players are much more mature. I think we’re ready to go. We feel like we’ve got a lot to prove in the playoffs because we haven’t won a game, and we want to win one so bad.”

The Falcons have set themselves up in the best possible way to achieve that goal and go on even further to other, even bigger goals.

But the new year and the new attitude doesn’t mean that the lessons learned in previous seasons are lost on these Falcons.

“We’re still looking for bigger and better things,” defensive end John Abraham said. “I’ve been in this situation before and I’m just trying to change my past, I guess you could say.”

Quarterback Matt Ryan is having quite a game with just one half gone in Saturday night’s tilt in Detroit.

He came up just two completions shy of the NFL’s consecutive completions record with 22 straight, tying him for third in that stat.

But a few plays later, he set a brand new career high for touchdown passes in a season when he found Julio Jones for an amazing play in the back of the end zone. It was Ryan’s third touchdown pass of the day and his 30th of the season, eclipsing his previous career high of 29.

The Falcons take a 21-6 lead into halftime.

Roddy White accomplished something Saturday night that only five others at his position had coming into the Falcons’ Week 16 matchup against Detroit.

With a 16-yard catch in the first quarter against the Lions, White notched his sixth straight season of 80-plus catches and at least 1,000 receiving yards.

The only other players in NFL history to accomplish the feat read like a who’s who at the position: Torrey Holt, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

The Falcons will be wearing SHES decals on their helmets tonight in remembrance of the 26 people killed in last week’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn.

For his performance against the New York Giants — and because of fan votes — Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was named the NFL’s Air Player of the Week for Week 15.

Ryan completed 23-of-28 passes for 270 yards, three touchdowns and a 142.6 passer rating in the Falcons’ 34-0 win over the Giants.

Ryan was selected from among three finalists in the Air category, beating out quarterbacks Drew Brees and Tony Romo.

FRIDAY
Did Not Participate
TE Brandon Pettigrew – Ankle (Doubtful)

Limited Participation
WR Calvin Johnson – Knee (Probable)
RB Mikel Leshoure – Calf (Probable)
LB DeAndre Levy – Ankle (Probable)
S Louis Delmas – Knee (Questionable)

Full Participation
S Don Carey – Knee (Probable)
CB Chris Houston – Hamstring (Probable)

THURSDAY
Did Not Participate
TE Brandon Pettigrew – Ankle

Limited Participation
WR Calvin Johnson – Knee
RB Mikel Leshoure – Calf
LB DeAndre Levy – Ankle
S Louis Delmas – Knee

Full Participation
S Don Carey – Knee
CB Chris Houston – Hamstring

WEDNESDAY
Did Not Participate
S Louis Delmas – Knee
TE Brandon Pettigrew – Ankle

Limited Participation
WR Calvin Johnson – Knee
RB Mikel Leshoure – Calf
LB DeAndre Levy – Ankle

Full Participation
S Don Carey – Knee
CB Chris Houston – Hamstring

Sean Weatherspoon’s eyes opened real wide as a surprised look came over his face. Asked what he thought about the Falcons defense being ranked No. 4 in the league in points allowed per game, Weatherspoon’s surprise quickly turned to pride as he realized just what that meant.

“Really? I think it’s cool. I think that’s the ultimate stat on defense,” Weatherspoon said Thursday. “You don’t want to give up a lot of points because you put that pressure on your offense. We do have a great offense, and sometimes they save us so we’re thankful for that but we definitely want to keep that stat down. We’re trying to get it to where we can move up a little more.”

For a defense that has been much maligned in the national media for apparently not being good enough, sitting in the top 5 in arguably the most important defensive stat ain’t too shabby.

Overlooked because total defense rank is measured by yards given up per game, the Falcons feel like they’ve been good enough all along — it’s just that no one really noticed what was really important in their equation.

Yes, the Falcons give up a lot of yards per game compared to the rest of the league — an average of 354.4 which puts them at 19th in the NFL — but the fact that the unit has allowed just 18.5 points per game is truly the key to the Falcons being 12-2.

“It’s the most important defensive stat,” head coach Mike Smith said of defensive points per game. “We talk about it all the time. Much like you can have empty calories eating, you can have empty yards in the game of football. You can give up a lot of yards and if you don’t give up points they don’t really amount to anything. So many times I think people want to talk about the best defenses are the ones that give up the fewest yards, it’s really all about points and our guys have done a very nice job this year. We’re starting to trend in the right direction at the right time.”

Shutting out the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants with an offense that contains stars like Eli Manning and Victor Cruz is a good start, but the Falcons have consistently been able to keep teams out of the end zone by either forcing punts, turnovers or field goals when it matters most.

But because of their middle-of-the-road placement in all other major defensive statistics, the Falcons defense has been overlooked in the conversation of best units in the league, or even the NFC for that matter.

Here’s a look at what the Falcons have done on defense this year:

To the Falcons, those categories that have the unit at the middle of the pack aren’t nearly as important as the one that directly influences wins and losses.

“Oh, definitely, because it means teams aren’t scoring a lot of points against you,” cornerback Dunta Robinson said. “I don’t care if we’re giving up 500 yards a game. If we can keep people out of the end zone, then we’ve done our job and we take pride in that.”

The Falcons couldn’t really put a consensus finger on what one thing has been the biggest key in scoring situations. Whether it’s disguising defenses (as pointed out by SI’s look at Mike Nolan’s scheme) or the swagger that the team has thanks to the offseason addition of Asante Samuel, the Falcons find that there are a lot of different things that have come together at the right time to build an attitude that the defense will not be scored against.

“We’ve all struggled together and put in the hard work,” defensive tackle Vance Walker said. “It’s just one of those things where we have to realize that we can let them get in. We’ve got to basically look each other in the eye and be like, ‘That’s it. They’re not going to get in. It’s over with.’ “

We all know that quarterback Matt Ryan is having a career year and that the Georgia Dome is where Ryan has seen a ton of success with a 33-4 record in his career.

What has been overlooked is just how good — or should I say great? — Ryan has been on the road this year.

Considering the Falcons are in a situation where a win on the road this week would mean the top seed in the NFC, it’s important to point out the road prowess the signal-caller has demonstrated this season.

Check out Ryan’s road stats for 2012:

That’s correct. In all the major NFL categories for quarterbacks, Ryan ranks in the top three in the league. Of note: In completion percentage, Ryan is second to Niners quarterback Alex Smith, whose starting job has been given to rookie Colin Kaepernick.

Yes, the Falcons’ two losses came on the road this year, and yes, Ryan’s numbers at Carolina were well below his average, but it’s still pretty amazing that Ryan has maintained these types of numbers on the road given those two losses.

Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has gained a reputation around the NFL as one of the toughest interior defensive linemen around. Right or wrong, he’s also gained a different one, too.

But the Falcons aren’t worried about the second one. Instead, they’re looking at figuring out how to stop one of the league’s top defenders in a game that holds so much importance to the Falcons’ postseason path.

“Talented player. Really talented player,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said of Suh. “He’s got great size, great strength, but he’s quick off the ball. Really good pass rusher. One of the best pass rushers for an interior guy in the league and a guy who plays to the whistle and relentless. He’s certainly someone you have to account for.”

The Falcons are expecting a physical matchup with the Lions, and Suh, especially. The Falcons offensive line did a tremendous job in a 34-0 win over the Giants keeping Matt Ryan clean against perhaps the toughest, most effective defensive line in the league.

In stopping Suh, the unit will need a similar performance.

“You face guys every week that are tremendous athletes, tremendous players and he’s one of them,” Falcons center Todd McClure said. “We’re going to have to be on our A-game and know where he’s at at all times.”

Suh has 30 tackles and 6.5 sacks this season to go along with the 14 career sacks he had coming into 2012. Known for penetrating the offensive backfield and disrupting plays before they get going, Suh can do a lot of things that can give the Falcons fits on Saturday as they try to keep the offensive momentum they built against the Giants.

Regardless of how Suh goes about that, the Falcons acknowledge they’ll have to keep their cool and stay poised no matter what situation presents itself in the trenches as they respect the type of game he brings to the field every week.

“No, he’s not a dirty player. He plays hard,” running back Michael Turner said, describing Suh as “tenacious” when asked to sum him up in a word. “He gets a bad rep for some things, but he’s just giving a great effort out there. You wish more guys would play like that in this league.”

Despite a 34-0 drubbing of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, the Falcons earn merely a smidgen of respect — and in some cases, none at all:

NFL.com Power Rankings – “Last week, the Falcons were jettisoned out of Charlotte by the Cam Newton Express. This week, they won 34-0. Atlanta hadn’t dominated a team like that all season. But I’ll tell you this: If Julio Jones gets going in the playoffs, it will be quite tough for defenses to match up with him, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez — especially when Matt Ryan gets protection.” This Week: 2; Last Week: 3

NFL.com Week 15 Power Poll – Not much respect out of the 13 experts at NFL.com as the Falcons only move up two spots. This Week: 5; Last Week: 7

ESPN.com Power Rankings – “Hammering the Giants by a 34-0 score sent a strong message with the playoffs approaching.” This Week: 5; Last Week: 5

CBSSports.com Power Rankings – “The most overlooked part of any team in the league is how well this defense has played against good quarterbacks at home.” This Week: 2; Last Week: 4

FoxSports.com Power Rankings – “The 34-point win ties the NFL record for biggest margin of defeat over a reigning Super Bowl champ. The shutout is further proof that Mike Nolan deserves to be a head coach in this league..” This Week: 4; Last Week: 5

Bleacher Report Power Rankings – “Being the first NFC team to 12 wins puts the Atlanta Falcons firmly in position to take the No. 1 seed into the playoffs. Not only does that mean home-field advantage, but it also means a week off to rest, self-scout and get healthy for the postseason. You won’t find much faith in the Falcons’ playoff chances outside of Atlanta. Critics are quick to point out previous failures, but those same people overlook signature wins like the Week 15 crushing of the New York Giants. That’s a marquee win for the Falcons, but because it happened in the regular season, it’s discounted. It shouldn’t be. The Falcons’ 12 wins are legit, and their postseason chances are too. This is a different team, a better team, than we’ve seen under Mike Smith.” This Week: 6; Last Week: 7

Pro Football Talk: – “They should have saved a few of those points for their playoff opener.” This Week: 3; Last Week: 3

Safety William Moore missed his second straight game Sunday with a hamstring injury and head coach Mike Smith said Monday that he hoped to get Moore back on the field as soon as possible.

Smith said Moore is scheduled to run with the Falcons’ Athletic Performance team and much of how much he’ll be used this week — if at all — will be determined by how that goes Tuesday.

Moore injured his hamstring during the Nov. 29 win over the Saints.

We’ll keep you posted on Moore’s progress this week as he works to get back on the field.

The Falcons have gone through the past two weeks needing help to lock up the NFC’s top seed heading into the playoffs. After Sunday’s 34-0 win over the Giants, the Falcons don’t need any outside help to go where they want to.

The formula is simple this week compared to the convoluted scenarios of week’s past: win.

A win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night would lock up the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs for the Falcons.

Since there are several scenarios through which the Falcons can earn homefield advantage or at least a first-round bye, we’ve listed them here for you:

Clinch home-field advantage with:

Clinch first-round bye with: