Atlanta Falcons embarrassing loss should be the final nail in Dan Quinn’s coffin

The Atlanta Falcons were pitiful on both sides of the ball Sunday in an embarrassing 35-22 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After looking like a completely different Atlanta Falcons team for the last two weeks and playing lights out on defense, they pulled a complete 180 and reverted back to their old ways for the first eight weeks of the season.

The Atlanta Falcons are quite the Jekyll and Hyde team. The last two weeks in road division wins at New Orleans and Carolina, they played lights out on defense and were practically flawless.

They played two straight perfect games in all phases. It is now clear and evident that was a mirage. Sunday’s embarrassing blowout loss to Tampa Bay was beyond pitiful on both sides of the ball.

The inconsistency of this team continues to remain an enigma. It is unknown as to which team will show up on a weekly basis.

The last two weeks gave fans a glimmer of hope that perhaps they had turned the corner. Instead, they came crashing back down to earth. That type of game has become a far too common occurrence in the Quinn era.

After recording 11 sacks the past two games, the Falcons recorded zero today. Even more embarrassing was the fact that they were credited with one quarterback hit (by Deion Jones) on Jameis Winston. Winston had ample time all day to step up and move around in the pocket to find open receivers in the middle of the field.

After two straight weeks of continuous blitzing on defense, which created a ton of pressure on the quarterback, the Falcons strangely didn’t blitz at all against the Bucs. It is very puzzling as to what their defensive gameplan was coming into this game.

Whatever it was, it was nowhere near as aggressive as it has been the last two weeks. Jeff Ulbrich and Raheem Morris have major questions to answer moving forward.

The offensive line play was probably the most pitiful as it has been all year long. They surrendered six sacks to a very strong Tampa Bay defensive front that was very aggressive. Rookie right tackle Kaleb McGary and veteran left tackle Jake Matthews both had very poor games. McGary had progressed nicely as of late.

Once again, the run game was non-existent. Overall, the Atlanta Falcons had 57 total yards rushing. You will not win many games with this production. Both Brian Hill and Qadree Ollison were not able to generate anything all day, although Ollison did rush for a touchdown.

The lone bright spot on defense was the two interceptions by Desmond Trufant and De’Vondre Campbell. The Falcons had very good field possession throughout the first half but were only able to generate one touchdown.

As it has many times this season, coaching and game planning will come into question.

Quinn had the deer in the headlights look plastered on his face throughout the game. Perhaps he wasn’t expecting such a debacle on both sides of the ball. He continues to coach with no sense of urgency. The entire team played as such and ultimately falls on him.

The Atlanta Falcons had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of at home against a reeling Tampa Bay team. The fans expected it. Perhaps even the players and coaches expected it and became too complacent. Quinn continues to clap on the sidelines and give players high fives late in the fourth quarter when his team is losing big. This depicts a high school football game.

The Atlanta Falcons were thoroughly outplayed and outcoached in their home stadium. This game could have and should have easily been their third straight win. They were inept offensively and defensively today and were completely outcoached once again.

The best the Falcons can finish this season is .500 should they win their remaining five games. This more than likely will not happen. Even if they were to finish the season with an 8-8 record, it won’t be enough to save Quinn’s job. Sunday’s loss sealed his own fate as his Falcons coaching coffin was nailed shut, which should not come anybody’s dismay.