After losing a must-win game in Washington, the Falcons’ fate has most likely been sealed heading into the final week.
When assessing the Falcons’ season, it’s hard not to fixate on their lack of success against playoff opponents. Even when they play well for a half against Washington or three quarters against Minnesota, they begin to crumble collectively. Coverage breakdowns and turnovers doomed them against Minnesota. Situational coaching mismanagement from Raheem Morris understandably received all the headlines. However, the horrific tackling and pass protection blunders picking up twists in high-leverage moments must be acknowledged in analyzing the loss to Washington.
Sustaining sound fundamental play has been a problem all season. Whether it’s careless penalties in the red zone to derail what should have been touchdown drives or poor communication in the secondary, they haven’t done the basics well enough consistently to win at the highest level. That will fall on Morris who has far too much experience for his defense’s technique to be used. The same can be said for how he failed to use his timeouts when needed on a pivotal drive where the Falcons could have overcome an ugly second-half performance where they were drastically outplayed.
As the Falcons move forward with Michael Penix, the coaching staff and defense must do everything they can to maximize the team’s ability to win close games. To allow Washington to run 40 plays compared to Atlanta only having nine at one point in the second half is preposterous. Not using timeouts properly in a must-win game is unacceptable.
The entire franchise should be aware of their biggest self-inflicted faults for how they will likely fall short of making the playoffs. Despite the massive disappointment, the fanbase isn’t as disheartened about the team’s direction.
How do you feel about the Falcons’ future in 2025? Can they learn from previous mistakes and turn a talented roster into a credible playoff team? Let us know below.
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