Where do Falcons rank among NFL's potential Super Bowl drought breakers?

Despite trailing by double digits in all five games, the New York Knicks are the new reigning NBA champions after taking down the San Antonio Spurs. It's the franchise's first title since 1973, inspiring hope for fanbases of all teams that have waited decades to see their favorite team finally win a ring.On the downside, the Spurs' collapse has brought up comparisons to the Atlanta Falcons' infamous Super Bowl collapse, when they were leading Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 28-3 going into the fourth quarter.

So, how far are the Falcons from returning to the biggest stage in the sport and (potentially) erasing the most-embarrassing Super Bowl defeat in NFL history? Pretty far, according to Bryan DeArdo at CBS Sports. He has the Falcons ranked 10th out of 16 teams going through a long championship drought."

The Falcons have been an enigma for quite some time. Despite fielding some of the NFL's most talented players, Atlanta has continued to underachieve. That could change, however, with the hiring of former MVP quarterback Matt Ryan as president of football.

Ryan has overseen significant roster changes during his first year on the job that could pay immediate dividends."Then again, finding that elusive last piece of the puzzle that is a franchise quarterback may be all this team needs in order to be considered a true contender again for the first time in 10 years.On that subject, the team says that the QB competition won't begin until Michael Penix Jr.

is ready for 11-on-11 drills, and he expects to do so at training camp. That being said, in the meantime Tua Tagovailoa has gotten all of those reps, and his edge in experience puts him in the lead to win the starting quarterback job.If neither Penix nor Tua proves capable of sustainable QB1 play, the Falcons will need to hit the reset button once again at this position.

Trading for a proven starter can be expensive and outside of Baker Mayfield, Justin Fields may be the only free agent QB worth exploring next yea