The Atlanta Falcons currently have a 5% chance of making the 2025 NFL playoffs, according to the New York Times’ simulator. Despite their 3-6 record, history suggests that a playoff run is still possible. Since 1970, nine teams with a similar record have reached the postseason, including recent examples like the 2023 Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has firsthand experience with such turnarounds. He was part of the coaching staff for both the 2012 Washington Redskins and the 2023 Los Angeles Rams when those teams made playoff runs after starting 3-6. Reflecting on those seasons, Morris said, “When we were at the Rams or when we were at Washington, I don’t think we ever came out and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to make this run and let it happen.’ It just kind of happens by getting better and better every day.”
Unlike those past teams who benefited from midseason byes to regroup—Washington in Week 10 of 2012 and Los Angeles in Week 10 of 2023—the Falcons had their bye earlier in Week 5. Still, Morris emphasized that each season is unique: “I don’t like to, to be honest,” he said about looking back on previous years. “Because every team has its own individual taste.”
Quarterback Kirk Cousins also experienced the Redskins’ turnaround as a rookie in 2012. Recalling head coach Mike Shanahan’s approach after a difficult loss that season, Cousins noted: “Basically, the media took it as him mailing it in and moving on to young guys. It upset some of the veteran players on the team. By upset, I mean galvanized.” Cousins described how Shanahan addressed each player directly: “I’ll never forget,” Cousins said. “He put us all in buckets: potential Hall of Famers, Pro Bowlers, guys I’d go to war with and then even a ‘we don’t know yet.’ I was in the ‘we don’t know yet’ category because I had played a total of like 10 snaps in my career. … I just felt that putting it out there and kind of letting guys know where they stand, I think, empowered a lot of people.” The Redskins won seven straight games to reach the playoffs.
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson contributed insights from his time with the Rams during their comeback last year. Robinson explained their mindset: “We said, ‘We’ve just got to win each and every day,’… We’ve got to have the best practice. We’ve got to have the best walkthrough.” He added: “I remember just the freedom that guys ended up playing with throughout the rest of the season… our record is what it is. Allow yourself to just cut it loose and go play.” After dropping back below .500 late in their season, Robinson recalled: “We just reset it… Hey, we’re 0-0.” The Rams eventually finished strong enough for a playoff spot.
Currently riding a four-game losing streak heading into Week 11 against Carolina Panthers, Atlanta’s last two losses came against top-performing teams—the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots—by only seven points combined. Cousins commented on these close results: “The NFL, unfortunately, if you’re close in every game, it doesn’t count for anything,” he said. “But when you are close in every game and you’ve got eight left, it gives you a lot of hope that in those eight anything can happen.”
Cousins believes head coach Raheem Morris has brought needed honesty to team meetings: “He calls it ‘ripping Band-Aids off’ in team meetings,” Cousins said. “…That’s what coaches need to do…coach hard and do it in a way that’s respectful but also clear…” Robinson praised team cohesion as well: “It’s as close of a team as I’ve ever been around,” he said.
To keep playoff hopes alive beyond this week’s matchup against Carolina Panthers—and avoid odds dropping below one percent—the Falcons will need an immediate turnaround.
“It’s been done before,” Cousins said.
