The Atlanta Falcons knew when they fired Raheem Morris that there was a chance that decision would come back to haunt them. He led them to an 8-9 record in each of his two seasons at the helm, including a four-game win streak to end last season, but the lack of accountability and the number of winnable games this team lost was the nail in the coffin.
But Morris was always a quality defensive mind, so it was never a surprise to see him quickly find new work, as he reunited with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and replaced Robert Saleh as the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, which meant he made his return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Week 7.
Falcons fans have had this matchup circled on their calendar ever since the schedule came out back in May, as they knew Morris would come into his return motivated to prove a point. But ultimately, his attempts to prove he shouldn't have been fired, as Atlanta won 29-20 and his defense had no answers for Michael Penix Jr.--and this roster was likely just as hungry to spoil his return.
As if you didn't think the Falcons' upset victory over the 49ers could get any sweeter, having Morris on the other sideline made it feel 100 times better. Being the team to end their undefeated season was pretty cool, but getting revenge on their ex-head coach while doing so was a bigger statement.
Raheem Morris fumbled the gameplan against the Atlanta Falcons
Morris' defense was one of the best-performing units in football entering Week 7, yet the less experienced Tommy Rees out-coached him by a wide margin on Sunday. The play-calling was creative, and everything clicked on offense because they returned to their run-first identity.
Raheem Morris had the 49ers ready to sell out to stop the run, and it's hard to blame him on account of the threat that Bijan Robinson is, but he coached this team for two years. He should know there's more weapons you have to stop than Bijan, and while his efforts were successful, it came at a cost as both Drake London and Kyle Pitts found the end zone.
The gameplan for the 50-year-old was supposed to be incredibly easy: just dial up the pressure on Michael Penix Jr. just like the Bears and Ravens did. But without Nick Bosa, nobody could get home.
According to Next Gen Stats, Penix was pressured just six of his 34 dropbacks (17.1%) and was never hit, and with the clean pocket, delivered by turning in his best start of the season as he completed 25 of 34 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns and a career-high 118.9 passer rating in the win.
According to SumerSports, the 49ers blitzed on 37.14% of passing downs and only accrued a 14.29% pressure rate on those plays, so Morris committed to a plan where he needed to bank on less-than-adequate personnel to execute without finding ways to make life easier on them. So of course it failed.
Despite some rough performances, the Falcons' offensive line is one of the better units in football and his gameplan helped them bounce back. But the difference is that with a shorthanded defensive line, Dennis Allen found creative ways for pressure to get home through DB blitzes, whereas Raheem isn't exactly known for his creativity.
I don't have enough fingers to count the number of times the 50-year-old the Falcons games across the last two seasons, so it's nice to serve him a little bit of comeuppance.
Say what you want about Kevin Stefanski, but nobody's doubting he's better-suited to lead this team than Raheem Morris--who offered the Falcons the perfect parting gift-- anymore.
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