Getty Jeff Wilson Jr. #22 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a touchdown past Duron Harmon #21 and Fabian Moreau #22 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons entered Week 15’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers with a 12 percent chance at making the playoffs, but after dropping the game 31-13, their chances are now slim to none.
Falcons’ starting safety Duron Harmon didn’t hold back on how he felt about letting their playoff hopes get away.
“We could have played better. We could have executed better but this is the reality of it,” Harmon said in the post-game press conference.
The Falcons defense failed to show up this Sunday, allowing the 49ers to rack up 397 yards on 56 snaps, including 162 yards rushing.
“The mood is sour right now,” Harmon said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m upset because I feel like we let that one get away.”
Atlanta’s offense didn’t hold up any better as they scored just 13 points and Matt Ryan was sacked three times and took 10 QB hits.
The Niners improved to 8-6 and moved up in the Wild Card race, while the Falcons fell to 6-8 and 11th in the NFC.
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Most Falcons Fans Seem to Have Zero Hope
Falcons fans are not holding their breath for a Wild Card spot, in fact, they are fed up. Fans took to Twitter during and after the game to express their frustration.
As mentioned above, the Falcons’ offensive line didn’t hold up too well and a lot of blame was put on right tackle Kaleb McGary who allowed two of the three sacks on Ryan:
Holy crap, Kaleb McGary sucks. What a reach and wasted pick that was. #Falcons
Even ESPN reporter Micheal Rothstein felt so bad for seeing Ryan hit the ground multiple times that he came up with a Christmas gift idea from the O-lineman:
Perhaps instead of the quarterback buying the offensive line gifts for the holidays, perhaps the Falcons’ OL should buy Matt Ryan a new ice bath or some sort of recovery tool for all the punishing he’s taken this year (and this week)
And another Falcons beat reporter/analyst even suggested trading Ryan away to save himself:
Anyways nothing against the guy but I’d trade Matt Ryan in the offseason if you can get the right package. He isn’t the source of the issues for the Falcons but it’s just sad watching him get thrown around like a toddler every Sunday. It’s time, just my opinion.
There is also absolutely zero hope from a lot of fans that the Falcons are in the playoff hunt:
I don’t want the Falcons to lose on purpose but none of you can convince me this is a playoff team.
Others are not ready for the pain to continue:
Nonetheless, there is at least one Falcons fan who sees a glimpse of hope:
Falcons remain on the “in the hunt” graphic, which means there’s still a chance
Falcons Face a Good Detroit Lions Team Next, What?
The rest of the Falcons’ schedule doesn’t get any easier from here like some thought. They take on the Detroit Lions next week, who are coming off a huge upset over the Arizona Cardinals, beating them 30-12.
Whether or not the Lions (2-11-1) are actually a good team or the Arizona Cardinals just didn’t show up remains to be seen. But this wasn’t the first time the Lions upset a winning team as they also stunned the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
The Lions have already been eliminated from the playoffs and have nothing much to play for, except for. Meanwhile, the Falcons now have just a 2 percent chance and need to win this next matchup with some other domino effects if they want to see a playoff berth.
It might be a long shot, but linebacker Foye Oluokun is not giving up.
“If it’s a chance, it’s a chance,” Oluokun said via AJC. “I don’t really care how small. If there is a chance, you might say that’s improbable. I’ll say there is a chance and that we are going to keep fighting and do our part in order to make the playoffs.”
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