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Dec 9, 2025
The Falcons are already looking ahead to 2026 after another lost season
https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com
(AP) - With a month to go in the regular season, the Atlanta Falcons are already looking ahead to 2026.
The Falcons locked up an eighth straight losing campaign and were officially eliminated from the playoff race with their seventh defeat in eight games, a 37-9 beatdown at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Atlanta (4-9) has now matched the franchise record for most consecutive seasons finishing below .500 -- quite a feat for a team that has endured plenty of haplessness over its 60-year history.
This latest loss was especially ugly as the Falcons surrendered 31 points in the second half and finished the game in a largely empty stadium that wasn't all that packed for the opening kickoff.
"It's pretty disappointing," safety Jessie Bates III said. "We've just got to stay together. We're still fighting for our jobs, for each other's families and all that good stuff."
If nothing else, the Falcons' performance over the final month could determine if Raheem Morris returns for a third year as coach.
Then again, with a 12-18 record during this tenure -- and a dismal 33-56 mark over his entire head coaching career -- Morris' fate may already be sealed no matter what happens the rest of the way.
Not much.
Bijan Robinson had 86 yards rushing on 20 carries, but even another solid performance from the star running back was marred by a backbreaking fumble deep in Seattle territory when the Falcons were driving for a potential tying touchdown early in the third quarter. After that, the Seahawks dominated.
The special teams are an absolute mess, and the Falcons seem to have little idea how to turn things around.
A 100-yard kickoff return by Rashid Shaheed to start the second half marked the third week in a row that Atlanta has given up a long return, swinging the momentum in the Seahawks' favor after a 6-all tie at the break. The Falcons tried to keep the ball away from Shaheed on their final kickoff, only to have Zane Gonzalez sail it out of bounds for a penal
