ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons need an overhaul. Again.
The only question after Sunday’s 37-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks is how deep and wide the cuts will go. Atlanta fell to 4-9, guaranteeing an eighth straight losing season, which ties a franchise record for an organization where ignominious records aren’t easy to obtain. The Falcons, who were officially eliminated from the playoffs with the loss, were outscored 31-3 in a second half that could eventually be the undoing of head coach Raheem Morris.
“You always look at yourself first. I always do that every single game,” Morris said. “The dramatic (changes) y’all are looking for, I don’t know what those things are, but you always have to look at your own work and what is best for this football team. The things we sought out to win this football game did not get accomplished.”
The game was tied 6-6 at the half, but Rashid Shaheed of the Seahawks returned the second half’s opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and Bijan Robinson fumbled the ball away on the Falcons’ next possession. Seattle (10-3) never looked back, scoring on four straight offensive possessions while Atlanta’s offense turned the ball over three more times (twice on interceptions and once on downs).
“The kickoff was a backbreaker. The fumble was a backbreaker,” Morris said. “You can’t give up back-breaking plays that allow your team to self-destruct when you’re playing a really tight football game.”
The Seahawks outgained Atlanta 254 yards to 123 in the second half.
“Pro football to me has always been a test of withstanding those types of moments, whether they be your own mistakes or another part of the game,” Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “So I have always taken pride in saying, ‘Who cares? We have to find a way back.’ It’s a four-quarter game. You have to keep playing. You never know which play can make the difference, so you have to play with a sense of urgency at all times. Today it got away from us.”
In the fourth quarter, Falcons fans booed Morris’ decision to kick a 27-yard field goal on fourth-and-2, and Seahawks fans closed out the game by chanting “Sea … hawks” once most Atlanta fans had headed for the exits.
“I completely understand the fans’ frustration,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “They come here to see us win and to play well. I get it. We’re frustrated, too. We have a couple options, and I think I know which one we’re going to pick. We’ll put our heads down and keep working.”
Atlanta, which hasn’t played a postseason game since Jan. 13, 2018, has lost seven of its last eight games headed into a Thursday night matchup on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s frustrating,” right guard Chris Lindstrom said. “I am thankful that people support us with their time, their passion, their energy and financially. I know there is a responsibility for us to give them everything, to make the playoffs, to have pride in it so they can feel that success. We have fallen short of that, so their frustrations are valid. We understand it.”
Cousins was asked Sunday night if someone on the team needed to “throw a chair” or have a similarly passionate response to light a fire under a team that seemed to be taking the loss with a stoic resolve.
“I don’t know about chair throwing, but (that) has got me thinking,” he said. “I have given some speeches in my day. It has its place. It can also be forced and can be really cringe. You have to have emotional intelligence to know when it works and when it doesn’t, but (the reporter) has a point.”
More than just fiery speeches are likely coming for the Falcons. The most immediate change could come on special teams. The Falcons have given up a league-worst 31.2 yards per kickoff return and are 30th in expected points added via special teams (minus-32.78). In addition to the Seahawks’ return touchdown, the Falcons had a field-goal attempt blocked in the first half. It’s the second time in the last two games that the unit has been responsible for a 10-point swing.
Morris defended special teams coordinator Marquice Williams this week, insisting that Williams’ strategic approach and communication with his team were sound. But Sunday’s issues suggest a deeper problem with the unit.
“We have to go figure it out,” Morris said. “We have to put (different) people out there. We have to change up who’s covering. It’s not just one person to point out. It’s not just one thing to point at. We have to go look at it on tape and figure it out and come up with some answers.”
Williams may not be the only coordinator in jeopardy. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is leading a unit that fell to 27th in the league in scoring (19.38 points) and has only converted 31 percent of its third-down attempts this season. Only the Tennessee Titans are worse (29.9 percent). On Sunday, the Falcons converted their first third-down attempt and then missed on 12 straight to finish 1-of-13. Morris placed the bulk of the blame on dropped passes.
“There are no magic calls,” he said. “You have to go out there and play. Somebody’s got to go make a play. That didn’t happen. Hats off to the Seahawks.”
Of course, Morris himself may not make it to the offseason to make any changes. The loss dropped him to 12-18 over two seasons in Atlanta. In a six-year head coaching career that includes 11 games as the Falcons’ interim head coach in 2020, he is 33-56, and that 37 percent mark ranks last among qualifying active coaches in the league.
The personnel will look different next year regardless of who is coaching. Cousins, making his third straight start and fourth of the season, finished 15-of-30 for 162 yards and two interceptions. Even if the veteran had played great this season in place of the injured Michael Penix Jr., it was already doubtful that Atlanta would keep him next year because of his salary cap hit ($57.5 million). Given that he’s 38th in the NFL in EPA per dropback (minus-0.15), that feels downright impossible now.
Kyle Pitts, who led the Falcons with six catches for 90 yards and now has 172 yards over the last two weeks, will be a free agent when the season concludes, as will Tyler Allgeier, who had 34 rushing yards and 33 more through the air Sunday. Wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who had a touchdown catch wiped off the board because the officials ruled he had gone out of bounds without being forced prior to the catch, could be a salary-cap cut.
Defensively, the Falcons seem to have fixed their pass rush with rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., who had his fifth straight game with a sack and now has six for the season. But little else feels stable.
Those issues will have to wait, though, until this team finishes out its final four games of another lost season.
“Our fan base deserves a winner, and the only thing we can do is to find a way to go win this Thursday football game,” Morris said. “You can’t make any promise you can’t keep at this moment. The only thing you can do is try to give them your best.”