What happened to the Falcons in Sunday's beat down?
Folks, Super Bowl contenders don’t often leave their head coach at a loss for words. And they usually don’t have their quarterback get trolled for poor play. Ah, here’s the solution: The Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Seahawks in Week 7 proves the Falcons aren’t a true Super Bowl Contender.
This turned into a beatdown. The Seahawks led strongly at halftime and pulled away late for a three-touchdown victory, 34-14.
Falcons’ head coach Raheem Morris said his team didn’t perform, according to seahawks.com.
“Obviously didn't play as well,” Morris said. “Came out flat. For whatever reason, they didn't play well. Those guys got the win today. Hats off to the Seattle Seahawks and what they were able to. We've got to play better next week.”
Falcons QB Kirk Cousins wasn’t at his best
Cousins completed 24 of 35 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown. Those numbers aren’t horrible, but he also threw two interceptions and suffered three sacks.
“Tough day at the office, certainly,” Cousins said. “Pro football has a way of testing you like that. We talk about having resolve, having grit, responding, getting back to work tomorrow, being candid about how each one of us has to do certain things better.
“I’ve got to play better and just kind of looking at how do we play better? How do we improve and put together a good week of practice? And then try to play your best football you can play next Sunday.”
Cousins said the Seahawks did a nice job of unsettling the Falcons’ offense with a good pass rush.
“They had a good rush plan,” Cousins said. “It's hard to answer quite well yet because my eyes are kind of down field. But at times they were getting home. But at times we were in a drop-back game where you're kind of inviting that pass rush as well. So when you get behind, that's sometimes what happens.
“And so it's important that we start fast enough to where we can kind of stay in our mold and not have to turn into that kind of two-minute mode as the game goes on.”
Morris said the Falcons didn’t recover from a slow start.
“You know, you can't really put a finger on it right now, Morris said. “You've got to go back and look at it. What you've got to get done and how you want to do it. But we did not come out with the energy that was required to win a football game today.
“We need to be better. Like, come out, get that stop. I don't know whether it was the penalties that kept their drives going. Right off the bat, I think it was three penalties in that first drive. Those are the things that kind of slap the air out of you, and you can't allow those things to happen.”
The defense had troubles
If the Falcons are going to make postseason noise, the defense can’t play anything like it did against Seattle.
Standout safety Justin Simmons said the team didn’t give what it needed to give.
“That's not good enough, unacceptable,” Simmons said. “There were a lot of things that didn't go well. And just speaking defensively we didn't play nearly well enough today to even give us a chance to win the game, regardless of what happened around the offense and special teams. I already talked about especially situational ball at the end of the half, on me giving up that score. That can't happen. So, if we want to be where we want to be and there's no panic mode button, but you can't do stuff like that.”
Simmons agreed with Morris’ assessment of the flat performance.
“Yeah, I think that's accurate,” Simmons said. “Again, from a defensive standpoint, you just felt on our heels a little bit. In those moments, you rely on guys to make their plays, not go chase plays. I felt like a lot of the times we were trying to chase plays. But do your job, trust the guy next to you and make the plays that come to you. They made a lot more plays than we did today. Like I said, there is no panic button, but if we want to be where we want to be, we need to fix that.”
The final score spoke volumes
It’s not that the Falcons are done. They could still be a solid playoff team. And maybe a tough out in the postseason.
But there are light years to travel from here to three. The talent is there, but this type of game — against a so-so opponent — raises a lot of red flags about the Falcons’ ability to win the tougher games.
At 4-3, the Falcons need a string of wins. And the schedule doesn’t provide a great deal of opportunities. In their next six games they will meet Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Denver, and Minnesota on the road. They have Dallas and the Chargers at home. That’s tough sledding overall. And if they go 3-3, they’ll slip into the world of marginal playoff threat.
So, this isn’t a Super Bowl team. And there’s not much evidence to think it will change as the season progresses.
