Those familiar with the Atlanta Falcons know that this is a roller coaster of a franchise.

Taking it back to just last year, think about how they beat Super Bowl contenders like the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams.

But suffered blowout losses to the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers en route to finishing 8-9 and missing the NFL Playoffs for the eighth straight year.

Dr, Jekyll? Mr. Hyde? The play-up, play-down thrill ride continues.

After going down to the wire with the Chicago Bears and then defeating the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta took an immediate step back.

Last Sunday, Nov. 1, Atlanta was shut out 16-0 by Tampa Bay Buccaneers as it rained buckets at Raymond James Stadium.

“It’s ebbs and flows of the NFL,” said Jessie Bates III, Falcons safety. “Nobody cares what you did last week. You’re going to get your best from everybody week in and week out. Just got to bounce back.”

Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. tossed the rain-soaked football for four interceptions, ending his hot streak where he had been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week days before kickoff. He vowed to “shake back” and “put my head down and keep working.”

“We have a chance to redeem ourselves as a football team,” Falcons wide receiver Jahan Dotson added. “Being in the circumstances that we had last Sunday, you kind of want to put it behind you as quickly as possible.”

The chance to regain respect comes this Sunday in a Week 9 international matchup. The Falcons (3-5) face the Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) in the second-ever NFL game in Madrid, Spain.

If history’s an indicator, the Bengals’ three-game winning streak points to the Falcons getting up for the NFC-AFC battle. 

“It is what it is. You’ve got to move on to this week,” Xavier Watts, Atlanta’s safety. “It’s a chip on our shoulder. Coming back this week and proving that we’re better and going to improve from last week’s game.”

Atlanta has flashed. Their wins over the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and 49ers had fans and experts alike thinking it was a top NFL team.

And at times, the light has been dim – very dim. Beyond the quarterback purgatory of the first two weeks, the team shrank in overtime against the Baltimore Ravens, struggled in the first three quarters against the Bears, and was bad all around at Tampa.

“There’s still a lot of stuff to clean up,” Bates said. “But there are also great things you want to continue to build on.”

It's never really over in the crazy NFC South. If only one of the four teams wins on Sunday, that team, including the New Orleans Saints at 3-5, will be in first place. The Falcons could be in first place at 4-5 if they win and the Panthers (3-4) and Buccaneers (3-5) both lose. They could be in last place if they lose and the Saints and Bucs win.

NFC South Standings:

1. Panthers 3-4
2. Buccaneers 3-5
3, Falcons 3-5
4. Saints 2-5

Falcons versus Bengals kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The game will be televised on the NFL Network. 

Atlanta is the designated home team.