Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — Five weeks ago, when the Falcons got a 24-14 home win against the Bills, they were 3-2 with wins over the Vikings, Commanders and Bills, all teams that won at least 12 games last season.
Running back Bijan Robinson had 238 total yards against Buffalo, putting him on pace to challenge NFL records for total yards in a season, and Atlanta’s defense had two interceptions and four sacks against the reigning league MVP in Josh Allen.
Since then? An absolute worst-case scenario for the Falcons. Atlanta has lost five in a row for the first time since 2020, including a one-point loss to the Patriots and two overtime defeats in the last three weeks.
“We keep finding ways to make it tough. We certainly do that. Very winnable game for us,” said head coach Raheem Morris, whose team led the Panthers 21-7 early Sunday and by 11 early in the second half. “We’ve got to find a way to make a play. We keep saying every single week, ‘Somebody’s got to make a play. Step up at the end,’ whether it be offense, defense or special teams. Had some opportunities and was not able to get away with it.”
To make matters worse, quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s season is over. He suffered a partially torn ACL in his left knee in Sunday’s loss, requiring full reconstruction and sidelining him for the next nine months, the team announced Wednesday. Also, wide receiver Drake London is sidelined by a lesser knee injury of his own.
“There’s no magic formula,” veteran backup quarterback Kirk Cousins said when asked how to get out of the team’s current tailspin. “You just get back to work and trust your training, and you’ve got to stay the course, believe that tough times don’t last and tough people do, and that’s all you can do.”
With Michael Penix Jr. out, Kirk Cousins is set start at quarterback the rest of the way for the Falcons. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Barring a miracle, Atlanta will miss the playoffs for an eighth straight season, the longest drought the franchise has endured since 1990. It also puts the futures of Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot into question.
To make matters worse, the Falcons don’t even have their 2026 first-round draft pick. Atlanta went all-in on this season and traded its 2026 first-round pick to the Rams (the Super Bowl favorites at most sportsbooks as of Wednesday) to move up from the second round to No. 26 overall to draft Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce in April. Pearce has 2.5 sacks as part of an improved Falcons pass rush, but they made that move expecting success that would put the 2026 pick in the second half of the first round, which it won’t be.
Entering Week 12, that pick is slated to be No. 8 overall, which is the exact spot that Atlanta shocked the world and took Penix two years ago.
Is Penix’s future in doubt now, too? He already suffered two ACL tears in college, although both of those tears were in his right knee. Still, the injury is significant enough to question his longterm durability. Would a new coach or GM come in trusting in Penix’s ability to return healthy, given that he’s only had 12 starts in two seasons and a 4-8 record? Cousins is due to make a non-guaranteed $45 million next year and will likely be cut.
So Atlanta, with a new coach, could be in need of a quarterback without a first-round pick, which could leave them to a stopgap bridge option with a lower-tier veteran, a temporary solution before resetting at the position in 2027. Tampa Bay has the only established quarterback in the division in Baker Mayfield, with Carolina still hoping Bryce Young is the answer and New Orleans potentially drafting a quarterback for the fourth year in a row.
Raheem Morris (left) was hired by general manager Terry Fontenot (right) in 2024. Could their partnership end after this season? (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Falcons have been in NFL purgatory for years, winning exactly seven games five times in the previous seven seasons, stepping up to 8-9 last year, but likely falling well below that by the time this season is over. Carolina, now 6-5 in Dave Canales’ second season, has seemingly taken a step forward to at least competing for a wild-card spot, but Atlanta is not well-positioned to take advantage of what continues to be a weak division overall.
The Titans and Giants have already fired coaches this season, and it doesn’t look like Falcons president Arthur Blank wants to make a move in-season, like he did with Morris taking over as interim coach in 2020 after Dan Quinn’s firing. But Morris’ job is definitely in jeopardy in the next seven weeks, and the same is true for Fontenot after five losing seasons as general manager.
Morris was asked to assess his leadership after Sunday’s loss, and whether he’s able to fix the team’s problems and change the course of their season after five straight losses.
“Not good. We’ve lost a bunch of games in a row in tight moments,” Morris said. “You’ve got to find a way to win those games, man. It definitely is on me. There’s no such thing as a losing team; there’s only a losing leader. I’m the leader, and we lost.”
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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