Short Week a Relief for Falcons After Season-Crushing Loss

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons dropped their seventh game in their last eight in Week 14. With it, their season – which was already hanging by a thread – came crashing down. Yet again, they find themselves out of the postseason and guaranteed a losing record.

Sunday’s loss saw the Falcons get outscored 31-6 in the second half against the Seattle Seahawks, a result that is sure to leave a bad taste in the mouths of these players.

The Falcons will not have to wait long before their next time out on the field, and hoping to rid themselves of that feeling with a positive result. They will have a short week before traveling to Tampa Bay to face their division rivals.

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For most teams, having to turn around and play a road game on Thursday Night Football is less than appetizing. For the Falcons, it is more akin to sweet relief.

“It’s probably the best thing for us to get back on the field and get right back at it,” rookie edge rusher James Pearce Jr. said after the game. “Be at the facility tomorrow in the morning, shake it off, and go get after Tampa Bay.”

On such a short week, the Falcons will be forced to move on. There were many lessons the team could take from Sunday, but head coach Raheem Morris said that it came back to this team learning how to handle their business on the field.

“You can't give up back-breaking plays that allow your team to self-destruct when you're playing a really tight football game like that. That first half, that was what the team should look like,” Morris said about what he’s taking into Thursday’s game. “When you come out in the second half, and you give up the kickoff return, and you're able to turn the football over, you give yourself no chance.”

Backbreaking plays and the team’s failure to capitalize on the important moments defined this game and ushered in the predictable outcome.

Whether it was the 100-yard kick return for a touchdown to start the second half, the red-zone fumble from Bijan Robinson, the pair of interceptions, the blocked field goal, or the failures in the red zone, the Falcons failed to win the moments that mattered.

Missed opportunities defined Sunday’s loss, but Thursday night will come quickly. With nothing besides pride to play for at this point, the Falcons will be putting their mental fortitude to the test.

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Kickoff between the Falcons and Buccaneers is set for 8:15 p.m. on Thursday at Raymond-James Stadium in Tampa. Under Morris, they are 5-2 in these prime-time games. This team will hit the field later this week, hoping for some of that to rub off on what has otherwise been a dismal season.