What impact could an end of the season run have on the Falcons future?

The odds of making the playoffs are slim, but the Atlanta Falcons could still end the season with 7 or 8 wins. Not the goal anyone had at the beginning of the season, but will in-season circumstances sway ownership when Week 18 comes to a close?

Since Michael Penix Jr. went down and Kirk Cousins went under center, we’ve heard a lot of different quotes to explain why that hasn’t happened. Cousins is more comfortable; Zac Robinson has reiterated that they can still have success doing the same things out of the pistol. If you’ve been paying close attention to the Falcons since 2024, this likely rubbed you the wrong way.

If this is what Kirk Cousins is most comfortable doing, why wasn’t he doing it last year? If this is something that you believe Penix is less comfortable doing, why hasn’t getting him comfortable been a focus? This staff is constantly tripping over their own quotes and explanations, and Falcons fans aren’t the only ones catching on. ESPN’s Ben Solak did a great job of outlining just how befuddling the situation is and stressed that he cares more about this than any other storyline in the league, because it just doesn’t make sense.

If the offense works itself back to looking functional, it wouldn’t be the first time Atlanta’s brass plays it safe and brings everyone back. I’ve thought a lot about the exit of Steve Sarkisian during this time, and I worry that the Falcons are looking at that situation from the other side.

After all this time, they might feel that a 3rd year was really what Sark needed, rather than a quick exit in favor of Dirk Kotter. Raheem Morris was a part of that staff, and if he is allowed to return off a late surge, Robinson’s future would likely be in his hands. Morris showed he was ready to move on from poor coaching last year, but we haven’t seen him take the same measures he did in 2024. ZRob hasn’t had play call duties taken from him, and the support in the building for him has been more consistent than whatever they have to say about the quarterbacks on the team.

Morris is supposed to be a CEO, but CEO’s aren’t rewarded for one profitable quarter and three in the red. We haven’t seen Morris grow; his clock management is still abysmal, and his team collects penalties like they’re limited edition Funko Pops. While most are ready to move on, it’s difficult to predict how Arthur Blank, a man known for his loyalty, will feel if his Falcons look like they’re two wins away from the playoffs when the year is over.

The Falcons have Cousins under contract for another year. It would be an expensive year, but could Cousins come back if he’s able to be a steady game manager? That was what the Falcons were hoping they were getting when they signed the veteran, and a sprinkle of above-average performances would be the cherry on top. Instead, the team got a volatile 2024 season out of the quarterback, who has since blamed a bum shoulder for that result.

A win against the 2-9 Saints isn’t something to put stock in, and we still saw the downsides to Cousins in this outing. He has to prove a lot moving forward, but the team is now committed to running an offense that gives him the best chance to do so. With so much uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position, the team could very easily talk itself into another year. They won’t be able to draft any of the top options and would have to spend a nice chunk of change to get a bridge quarterback to replace Cousins.

If Cousins wants to give this team the best chance at building around him, he’ll need to be willing to do a restructure, but will the best bag getter in the game feel inclined to do the team a solid, or will he force them to pick between the current deal or cutting him outright?

This is a frustrating spot for fans; they’ve seen this story play out before and hope the team goes in a different direction once the season is over. This franchise loves to double down, but maybe this is the year that meaningless wins will finally feel meaningless to them.