What did Sunday’s win teach us about the Atlanta Falcons?
By Ross Terrell
After a bizarre week, the Atlanta Falcons secured their first win.
Haters will say the Atlanta Falcons win versus the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday didn’t mean much because there was no Dalvin Cook and the Vikings were 1-4. Diehards will say the Atlanta Falcons are ready to run the table and make the most improbable playoff run in NFL history. But what did we really learn about the Falcons on Sunday?
Perhaps the mentality that Dan Quinn hoped to bring to this team is still lingering. There’s a reason you have a speechwriter and then a person to deliver the speech.
Quinn was all about resiliency, week after week, loss after loss, he talked about having their backs against the wall and having to punch out of the corner.
That message just didn’t make it to the team.
Raheem Morris changed the Atlanta Falcons stale message.
He took a winless team, a shoddy defense, a shaken offense, and a team that had lost a day due to COVID-19 and led them to a win. Not a squeak by, just barely, win by one possession. But an open to close dominating win. The Falcons dropped 40 against one of the league’s best defenses.
It also marked the first time this season the Atlanta Falcons put up points in every quarter of the game. Now, there was no Dalvin Cook and he is an elite running back but the Falcons defense, for once, looked like it belonged on an NFL field.
You’ve gotta give Raheem Morris credit for that. The Falcons have a young secondary that NFL quarterbacks have feasted upon. But they set the tone from the first play of the game when one of their leaders Deion Jones came up with an interception. Follow that up with two more and a goal-line stand, that’s encouraging.
Let’s not forget Justin Jefferson, a rookie, still had his way with the secondary. But the Falcons finally looked resilient. You know what else we learned? Special teams issues shouldn’t be a problem anymore. Atlanta should’ve easily secured its first win of the season back in week two against Dallas. But they watched an onside kick journey 10 yards with not a single player making as much as an attempt to get to it.
Next. Morris deserves to be legit candidate for head coaching vacancy. dark
Minnesota attempted two yesterday and that never had a chance to happen. You change coaches mid-season when you’re looking for something to be done differently. And Raheem Morris and the Falcons showed, at least for the next 10 weeks, that’s gonna be the case. They had a double-digit lead and they didn’t blow it. And if you’re a Falcons fan, that’s the least you can ask for.