Weekend Reflections: Last-place Falcons headed for another losing season

After his Falcons flopped in Madrid on Sunday, coach Kevin Stefanski declined to make any “proclamations” about the rest of the season.

That made sense. Would anyone believe Stefanski if he expressed confidence about turning the season around?

But then Stefanski said he has no concerns as his team prepares to face the Chiefs on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That’s a strange perspective for the coach of a team that’s lost four of its past five games.

Not that it matters. Stefanski doesn’t need to say much. Everyone can see that his team stands last in the NFC South with the season more than halfway over.

The Falcons (3-6) are in serious trouble after the 34-17 loss to the Bengals, who were favored by a field goal. The concerns are everywhere — offense, defense, special teams, coaching. Add the upcoming schedule to that list.

The Falcons will have to win six of their last eight games to avoid a ninth consecutive losing season. They’ve given no indication they can produce a sustained run of winning football.

The Falcons are 1-4 since winning their first two games after the return of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Three of those losses are by margins of two scores or more.

The Falcons have played a tough schedule. ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index metric rates it as the league’s fourth-hardest. The Falcons close with a relatively easy stretch of games over the final four weeks (though, given their current state, none of them look easy).

The problem is the Falcons will face a difficult stretch of four games before they get to the final four.

The Chiefs (6-2) routed the Jets on Sunday to end their losing streak at two games. After a bye week, the Falcons will play games at Minnesota, here against Detroit and at Cleveland.

The Vikings (6-1) lead the NFC North. The Lions (6-2) have won four games in a row. The Browns (5-4) are no longer a joke in their first season after firing Stefanski.

Meanwhile, the Falcons are flailing. As usual, their greatest hope is that they end up being less bad than the other NFC South teams.

The Buccaneers (3-6) had a chance to take over first place on Sunday night, but they lost in Chicago. The Panthers (3-5) lead the division despite their three-game losing streak. The Saints (3-5) are in second place. The Falcons are last because they are 1-2 in the division and the Bucs are 2-0.

Stefanski doesn’t need to make any proclamations or share any concerns about his team.

We can see the results.

Georgia Tech hits low even Geoff Collins didn’t reach

Georgia Tech football never came close to finishing with a winning record during Geoff Collins’ three full seasons as coach. The Yellow Jackets had three winning seasons in a row with Brent Key before plummeting to the bottom of the ACC this year.

I offer that necessary context before pointing out one way in which the Jackets now are doing worse than they ever did with Collins as coach.

They’ve lost three games in a row by margins of 20-plus points. That never happened during Collins’ three-plus seasons as coach.

I understand if you’re surprised by that, because it was hard for me to believe it, too.

I remember the thrashings Collins’ Jackets took from Clemson (73-7, 52-14), Georgia (52-7, 45-0), Notre Dame (55-0) and Ole Miss (42-0). Collins lost to The Citadel of FCS. Group of Five lightweights South Florida and Northern Illinois also won at Bobby Dodd Stadium during his tenure.

But Collins’ teams never had a noncompetitive three-game stretch like the Jackets are on now. It didn’t even happen during his first season, when the Jackets were transitioning from their era of triple-option offense and afterthought defense.

This year’s Jackets were outscored 37-14 after halftime during the 49-27 home loss to Boston College. Tech fell behind 17-0 in the 34-11 loss at Pitt. Louisville scored 24 unanswered points in the first half on the way to a 44-17 victory Saturday night on The Flats.

The Jackets have lost four games in a row and have three left to play. They are two-touchdown underdogs for next weekend’s game at Clemson. Tech also will be a heavy underdog against No. 11 Wake Forest and at No. 1 Georgia.

Tech’s longest losing streak with Collins was six games. The Jackets have been much better overall with Key as coach, but they are so bad now they will probably top that number.