A week ago Dan Quinn fielded questions about his team’s wounded psyche.
By Monday, the queries for the Falcons coach were about complacency and whether he might rest star wide receiver Julio Jones even if he’s healthy enough to play this weekend against the 49ers.
The change in tone reflected a quick and dramatic turnaround in fortunes and perceptions for the Falcons. Their emphatic 28-point victory over the Rams on Sunday in Los Angeles served to blot out the devastating loss to the Chiefs at the Georgia Dome the week before.
The Falcons (8-5) showed no lingering effects from that defeat, putting the late “pick-2” by quarterback Matt Ryan behind them. Against the Rams, the Falcons scored a touchdown just 10 seconds and never let up during the 42-14 rout that was so thorough that it cost Rams coach Jeff Fisher his job on Monday.
The day after, Quinn said he was pleased that the Falcons followed a disappointing loss with a dominating performance but remained confident that they wouldn’t let it go to their heads.
“We are a team that, after a difficult loss, we don’t lose our belief and after a good win, we don’t over-hype it either,” Quinn said. “It’s right back to the process. But I was glad to see that resiliency on display after a difficult week prior.”
After dispatching the Rams (4-9), the Falcons face another struggling opponent when the 49ers (1-12) come to the Georgia Dome.
Like the Rams, San Francisco has an offense that ranks among the worst in the league. Unlike Los Angeles, the 49ers don’t have a respectable defense to mitigate those struggles. The 49ers have lost 12 games in a row. With a franchise history dating back to 1946, the team had never lost as many as nine straight. They’ve been outscored by 142 points, the second-largest deficit behind the winless Browns.
But it’s not as if the Falcons can breathe easy. Tampa Bay beat New Orleans on Sunday to remain in a tie with the Falcons atop the NFC South. The Falcons own the tiebreaker but they haven’t clinched anything yet.
But after the Falcons did nearly everything right in Los Angeles, even without one of their best players, how do they protect against overconfidence against the 49ers?
“We know we are right here in December football,” Quinn said. “As you get back to it, let’s throw the records out. Let’s go play ball. Who we are playing, where we are playing — that’s kind of irrelevant, so to speak, because you just want to go battle for it.”
On Sunday, the Falcons offered more proof that they don’t need a big performance from Jones to be effective offensively. He sat out due to a turf toe injury suffered against the Chiefs. No. 2 wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (groin) also missed the game.
Quinn said the team’s performance without Jones doesn’t make him more inclined to hold Jones back if the toe still is sore on Sunday.
“I think we’ve got to take it on a week-to-week basis in terms of, if you are ready,” Quinn said. “If you are ready, then you can go. If you are not, then it’s best to hold. At this time of year, you throw everything else out and go for it as hard as you can each week and that’s what we will do with him.”
With Jones sidelined, Ryan still passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers as eight different Falcons players caught at least one pass. The air game was so productive that the Falcons’ ineffective running game — 66 yards in 25 carries — hardly mattered.
The defense, which had shown improvement in recent weeks, reached another level on Sunday . The Falcons had five takeaways against the Rams with touchdowns scored by linebacker Deion Jones and linebacker Vic Beasley.
“The defense, we’ve challenged them in certain areas to see if they can improve and they have,” Quinn said. “That part we are excited to see where we can go.”
Injuries were the only downside for the Falcons in L.A. Three players didn’t finish the game: starting cornerback Jalen Collins (knee), reserve safety Kemal Ishmael (shoulder) and wide receiver Nick Williams (concussion).
Quinn said Collins suffered a “strain” that was being evaluated by doctors on Monday. He said the team is “hopeful” Collins will be available to play Sunday.
Quinn said Ishmael re-injured the same shoulder that forced him to miss time during the exhibition season and has bothered him since. Williams is subject to the league’s concussion protocol and will have to pass a series of tests before he is allowed to return to football activities.
“That’s a cause for concern that it’s the same injury he keeps re-aggravating,” Quinn said Monday. “He is literally one of our toughest competitors.”
Quinn said Williams has entered the league’s concussion protocol. He will have to pass a series of tests before he is gradually allowed to return to football activity.
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