1. The no-spin zone: Merry Christmas!!!
Let’s get into some playoff talk and take a look at the relationship between Falcons coach Raheem Morris and Commanders coach Dan Quinn.
The Falcons control their own path to the playoffs as they enter their game at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at the Commanders.
With wins over the Commanders and the Panthers, the Falcons would claim the NFC South division and go to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
A Falcons win coupled with a Bucs loss to the Panthers this week, also would clinch the title.
After six seasons of hanging out in the basement of the NFL, making the playoffs would be a major accomplishment for the Falcons in the first season under Morris.
However, a quick exit would be likely.
If the playoffs were to start this week, the Falcons would host the Vikings, who routed them 42-21 on Dec. 8. It could be the Lions, who face Minnesota in a potential battle for the No. 1 seed in Week 18. The Lions have a lot of injuries on defense, but still would be heavy favorites over the Falcons.
The Falcons are underdogs to the Commanders.
Morris was a defensive back in college at Hofstra, and Quinn was his position coach. Those two have remained connected throughout there coaching journeys.
“Now, be in the fortunate position of being head coaches in this awesome league, and have a chance to compete against each other at a very high level with high stakes on the line and in prime time,” Morris said. “I just enjoy those moments of being able to go against guys that you care about and being able to enjoy those moments. But this week, man, he’s got to be a nameless gray face. We’ve got to go out there and get a win.”
“We still keep in touch,” Quinn to the AJC in October. “We are always following each other, give it a text or call. ... Someone that you’re close with, you’ll always keep up with.”
Quinn and Morris exchange text messages on normal weeks, but this won’t be a normal week. Morris won’t talk or message Quinn.
“I’ll ban him this week,” Morris said. “I’ll block him on my phone.”
Quinn was elated to see Morris land the Falcons job.
“Every once in a while, you get the right person at the right job, at the right time,” Quinn said. “That’s Raheem in Atlanta. He’s always been the right person. This is the right time for him, there, in that city, with this team. I’d imagine there is a certain energy following this team as well in Atlanta.”
Morris was on Quinn’s staff in Atlanta from 2015-20 in varying capacities. Quinn clearly trusted Morris with offensive, defensive and assistant head-coach duties.
“He’s got the rare ability, street smarts, football smarts, connection (and) football acumen,” Quinn said. “There are a lot of people who know it in the book, but can’t teach it.
“There are lot of guys who know how to play, but can’t articulate it. Rah is the rare one who can motivate you. He can talk tough. Whatever is needed to help a player reach their potential. He’s the type of person that you want to do that.”
Last season, the 9-8 Bucs were the fourth seed and posted a 32-9 win over the Eagles in the first round. The Bucs put up a fight before they were eliminated 31-23 by the Lions in the divisional round. But the Eagles had stumbled into the playoffs and were in turmoil.
The Vikings appear to be peaking, and the Lions have looked like the best team in the league at times this year.
In 2022, the Giants were 9-7-1 and the weakest division winner. However, the Giants upset Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 to advance to the divisional round. The Vikings were 13-4.
The Giants were routed 38-7 by the Eagles in the divisional round.
They were unable to build on their playoff appearance. The Giants have since moved on from quarterback Daniel Jones and currently have the top pick in the 2025 draft.
Quinn and Morris both have rookie quarterbacks. They haven’t discussed how they are working with Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr.
“That has not come up yet,” Morris said. “That’s a good question, but it hasn’t. Obviously, during the draft, all those things came up, but nobody wants to tell anybody nothing. We’ve all got our secrets until we shocked the world at pick eight. But, nobody really talks about those things.”
2. Playoff primer: The Commanders still are in the hunt for the NFC East title. They are two games behind the Eagles (12-3) with two games to play.
The Falcons are tied for the lead with the Bucs (8-7) in the NFC South.
The Falcons hold the tiebreaker over the Bucs with two head-to-head wins.
If the Commanders do not catch the Eagles, they are the leaders to land the seventh seed of the playoffs.
3. Rookie of the year: Daniels, the former Arizona State and LSU standout, who was taken with the second overall pick in the draft, has been spectacular this season.
Daniels has completed 301 of 432 passes (69.7%) for 3,303 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a passer rating of 101.3. A crafty runner, Daniels also has rushed 128 times for 737 yards and six touchdowns.
He’s a near lock for the rookie-of-the-year award.
“He’s done a great job,” backup quarterback Marcus Mariota said. “He’s deserves a lot of credit for how he’s come in. His demeanor and the way he works. I think they there are no surprises as to why he’s good.”
Former Falcons wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus caught five passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Eagles. He’s also a big supporter of Daniels.
“It’s been great,” Zaccheaus told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think he’s handled a lot of things very, very well. … It’s been cool to see. It’s great to play alongside of him. He’s just going to continue to grow as he gets more games under his belt.”
4. Key matchup: Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who was acquired in a trade with the Saints in early November, made his debut Sunday for the Commanders in their win over the Eagles. He covered A.J. Brown and was called for three defensive pass-interference penalties, but Quinn was fine with how Lattimore competed
“He has a real edge about him, a strength about him, and he really fits in well to how we want to play,” Quinn said. “So, I was pretty pumped to see him.”
Lattimore likely will cover Falcons wide receiver Drake London, who’s 22 yards away from his first 1,000-yard receiving season.
5. Quinn vs. Morris: After the tumultuous 2020 season, Morris went to the Rams and helped them win a Super Bowl as their defensive coordinator.
He was hired to replace Arthur Smith after last season.
Morris and Quinn, who landed with the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator, have faced each other before.
“We played the Cowboys, I want to say twice,” Morris said. “It could be just once, but for sure once. They kicked our butts a bit last year.”
The Cowboys won 43-20 on Oct. 29, 2023 at home.
Both made their return to the head-coaching ranks and previous head coaching jobs.
“Man, it’s always fun to play against your friends, your confidants, your mentors — whatever you want to look at it as — that we’ve been able to grow up with throughout this whole process,” Morris said. “You know, Dan coaching me in college and then having a chance to work together, then having a chance to really follow the same path to the National Football League.”
6. Turnovers: The Commanders defeated the Eagles despite committing five turnovers. Running back Brian Robinson lost two fumbles, and wide receiver Dyami Brown lost another, to go with two interceptions from Daniels.
7. Series history: This will be the 29th meeting between the Falcons and Commanders. The Commanders lead the series, 17-10-1. The Commanders have won the past three, including a 24-16 win last year Oct. 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
8. Where to watch, listen, livestream Falcons at Commanders: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Falcons (8-7) and Commanders (10-5), which is set for 8:20 p.m. at Northwest Stadium.
TV: NBC. Play-by-play: Mike Tirico. Analyst: Cris Collinsworth. Reporter: Melissa Stark.
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Jake Cook. Pregame/Postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson. Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain (studio producers). Dylan Matthews (network studio producer) and Chris Thomas (local studio producer).
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channels 226 and 801. Commanders 225 and 831.
Livestream: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International. There are several other subscription services.
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official 53-man depth chart heading into Sunday’s game:
OFFENSE
QB: Michael Penix Jr., Kirk Cousins
RB: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Carlos Washington Jr.
WR: Drake London, Chris Blair
WR: Darnell Mooney, Casey Washington
SWR: Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge
TE: Kyle Pitts
TE: Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley
LT: Jake Matthews, Brandon Parker
LG: Matthew Bergeron, Elijah Wilkinson
C: Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT: Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton
DEFENSE
ROLB: Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone, Demone Harris
DE: Grady Jarrett, Zach Harrison
NT: Eddie Goldman, Kentavious Street, Ruke Orhorhoro
DE: David Onyemata, Brandon Dorlus
LOLB: Matthew Judon, Arnold Ebiketie
ILB: Kaden Elliss, JD Bertrand
ILB: Nate Landman
LCB: A.J. Terrell, Kevin King, Natrone Brooks
RCB: Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III
NCB: Dee Alford, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
SS: Justin Simmons, Richie Grant
FS: Jessie Bates III
Special teams
K: Riley Patterson
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Liam McCullough
KR: Avery Williams, Ray-Ray McCloud
PR: Avery Williams, Mike Hughes
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