Falcons coach Raheem Morris' prospects looking up with late-season success

The Atlanta Falcons have known for the better part of December that they won't be playing in the postseason for the eighth straight year.

Atlanta (7-9) also will post an eighth consecutive losing record after a five-game midseason losing streak dug a hole too deep to emerge from -- even in the unimpressive NFC South.

After the Falcons dropped to 4-9 following a 37-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 7, there were few seats hotter than the one for head coach Raheem Morris. Since then, the team has won a season-best three straight games, fueling the belief in Atlanta that Morris could return for a third season in 2026.

Ahead of Sunday's regular-season finale against the visiting New Orleans Saints, Morris continues to speak in a future tense regarding his time with the franchise.

"I think you can't ever get tired of winning," Morris told reporters on Wednesday. "I want the guys to obsess over winning, whatever the stakes are. That's how you become a winner and that's how you change your program into a winning program, and that's exactly what we want to be."

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 overall draft pick in 2024, went down with a partially torn ACL on Nov. 16. In an inconsistent nine-start season, the 25-year-old completed just 60.1% of his passes and the Falcons went 3-6 with Penix under center. Penix passed for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

Since the injury, veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has helped Atlanta win four of six games, but Morris dismisses the notion that they called Cousins' number too late.

"Mike was outstanding, and he was awesome when he played well for us," Morris said. "Mike did a nice job but got hurt. Kirk stepped in and did exactly what we thought we would do. I know you guys wanted to get rid of Kirk and that wasn't my intention, that was not what I wanted to do. Especially, you need a backup, you need somebody to win."

Against the suddenly red-hot Saints (6-10), who have won four straight, another Atlanta victory to close the 2025 campaign would mark the first season sweep against New Orleans since 2016. The Falcons won in New Orleans 24-10 on Nov. 23.

"We don't like the Saints," Morris said. "That's clear and obvious and it's the reason the National Football League makes all these games at the end, trying to make them division games. That's the exciting part about the National Football League, you can get these types of games, these types of moments, divisional rivals. It was nice to go out there and get one win versus those guys; it'd be better to get two."

--Field Level Media