WATCH: What's Dan Quinn's job status after beating 49ers?
The Atlanta Falcons entered Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers as 10.5-point underdogs. They left the Bay area Sunday night as seven-point victors.
Atlanta pulled off a major upset behind the arm of Matt Ryan, who helped bring the Falcons back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit. Beating the New Orleans Saints in Week 10 was very surprising, but defeating the 49ers was even more shocking.
It was, by far, the biggest win of the season for the Falcons, and it has fans and the media in Atlanta wondering aloud how it could change Dan Quinn's job status.
Since their 1-7 start, the Falcons are 4-2, and they end the season with two teams at or below .500 (as of Week 15). It's possible the Falcons finish the year with seven wins just as they did last season.
Even if they don't, it's clear that Quinn hasn't lost the locker room. The Falcons are still playing hard for him, and since Quinn gave up his pipe dream of being the team's head coach and defensive coordinator, the Falcons defense has improved drastically.
Those are some of the reasons to keep Quinn. There's still plenty of reasons not to as well. For one, the first half of the season should still count for a lot, and remember, it was absolutely awful.
Secondly, the Falcons shouldn't settle for two straight 7-9 seasons. This roster has more talent than that. Even if there's a 6-2 finish, the overall record isn't good enough from Quinn over the last two years.
Many will probably point to a possible 6-2 or 5-3 ending as a sign of great things to come next season. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Falcons finished the 2018 season 3-0 and none of that so-called momentum carried over into 2019.
Momentum doesn't carry over week to week in the NFL let alone season to season.
But Sunday's Falcons win has ensured one thing -- Quinn's job status will be debated over the next two weeks.
