The Atlanta Falcons can’t let past failures weigh them down after their break. They’re still in first place in the struggling NFC South. They’re also in a great position to make their first playoff appearance since 2017.
However, this is still a franchise known for blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl, and that’s just one example of their history that has made Atlanta seem like the Titanic of the NFL over almost 60 years.
The Falcons (6-5) have never won a Super Bowl, and they didn’t look like serious contenders in their last two games before the bye.
The excitement of a 6-3 start was nearly wiped away when Atlanta lost 20-17 to New Orleans, ending the Saints’ seven-game losing streak, and then was crushed 38-6 by the average Denver Broncos, marking the Falcons’ worst loss since 2021.
Just like that, a city used to disappointment since Atlanta joined the NFL in 1966 is feeling the sting of another tough loss.
“No one game will ever define you,” coach Raheem Morris said defiantly after the Broncos loss. “This one game won’t define us. I know this team will bounce back. It’s obviously a tough day for those guys. It’s a tough day for the organization, a tough day for the coaches. But this organization is built on tough people.”
When the Falcons return to practice, all eyes will be on $180 million quarterback Kirk Cousins to get the team back on track.
Cousins received a huge contract from a team that has struggled to find a top quarterback since the end of the Matt Ryan era.
The 36-year-old Cousins has had some impressive moments in his first season with the Falcons, such as throwing for a career-high 509 yards against Tampa Bay. He has thrown 17 touchdowns in Atlanta’s first nine games, but now he has gone two straight games without a touchdown pass, the first time that’s happened in his starting career.
“There’s no magic formula,” Cousins said. “What are we doing well? What are we not doing well? How do we fix it? Those are important questions to ask, but the answers are even more important as to how you fix it. That’s to be determined.”
Cousins had talked about how exciting it would be to lead a city starved for a title to its first championship, but there’s a downside to that.
The Falcons have caused so much heartache over the years that fans won’t hesitate to turn on Cousins if he doesn’t get things right when the Falcons play the Los Angeles Chargers on December 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
This pressure is even greater because Cousins has only one playoff win in his long career, and the team’s first-round draft pick, Michael Penix Jr., is on the sidelines, waiting for a chance to do more than just mop-up duty.
“He’s doing a great job,” Cousins said of the rookie. “A hard worker, and our quarterback room has always been working together from day one to help each other grow. Not just one person, but all trying to get better every single day together.”
The bye week came at a good time for the team, which has been hit hard by injuries in the last two weeks. Eight players missed the Broncos game, including several key defensive starters, and four more players got injured during the loss.
While the offense has struggled lately, the bigger issues seem to be on defense.
Denver’s rookie quarterback, Bo Nix, easily tore apart the Falcons by completing 28 of 33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns.
“You can’t play like that and expect to win,” safety Justin Simmons said.
Nix was hardly pressured by a defense that ranks last in the league with only 10 sacks. To show how ineffective the Falcons have been at rushing the quarterback, only five other teams have fewer sacks.
Morris was asked if he would make any changes on defense during the bye week.
“We always look at that,” he said. “You always go back, you always reflect, you always study. You get a little bit more time this week. You’ve got two weeks to come back, get ready, get healthy, prepare yourself to get better, prepare yourself to go out there and play your best football.”
Given their division, the Falcons would likely need to collapse for them to lose their spot at the top of the NFC South.
If Atlanta just beats the three weaker teams left on their schedule — Las Vegas, the Giants, and Carolina — they should have a winning record and probably win the division over Tampa Bay (4-6), New Orleans (4-7), and Carolina (3-7).
Cousins said it’s important not to focus too much on the bigger picture.
“There has to be this ability — and it can be difficult mentally and emotionally — to separate each game from the previous one or from the next one and just go play that game regardless of what has transpired,” he said.
That might be easier for him since he has only played 11 games for the Falcons. But for a long-time fan who has seen it all, it’s much harder to forget the past.
