Fans have been waiting for months for the Atlanta Falcons to fire Raheem Morris, but Thursday night certainly didn't help their case. After being eliminated from playoff contention, the Falcons team fans were waiting to see all year finally showed up, stunning the Buccaneers 29-28 to kick off Week 15.
The Dirty Birds trailed by as much as 14 in the fourth quarter, but clawed their way back mostly due to Kirk Cousins and a career game from Kyle Pitts. As impressive as the win was, it was aided by a back-breaking Bucs' collapse that has still given fans at least a semblance of hope if Morris is retained.
The 49-year-old coach is undoubtedly on the hot seat, so he knows he will have to save his job in the final weeks of the season. For as much ineptitude as there's been in Atlanta this season, the only thing that would make all of that worse is if Morris actually gets another season from Arthur Blank.
Falcons' Week 15 victory could be what saves Raheem Morris' job
Fans were expecting playoff appearances in both seasons since Morris took over, but that hasn't been the case. The Falcons collapsed down the stretch last season, but being 5-9 this season with this roster is one of the biggest examples of coaching malpractice you will ever see in the NFL.
The play-calling has been bad, the game management has been bad, and the grounds for termination have been there. But a lot of the issues that plagued Atlanta all season long finally vanished while the team delivered one of their most impressive performances of the season.
However, for as nice as it was to remember what winning football feels like, it would have been nice to see surface while they had something to play for. And it was still an incredibly sloppy performance, as the Falcons were penalized a franchise-record 19 times and still found a way to come out on top.
All fans wanted to see was one glimmer of hope, and they got it, but it could come at the cost of the obvious move they wanted to see. For as talented as this roster is, a primetime win like that is exactly what ownership wants to see as they continue to evaluate Morris' long-term future in Atlanta.
The jury's still out on what Blank will do, but we won't have an answer until after the season. Perhaps things are too gone for Morris and this coaching staff to ever right the ship, or maybe Blank believes that he deserves another season before moving on in what could be a better coaching cycle in 2027.