Falcons playing like garbage, down 20-3 at half

The Falcons fought like hell to win against the Eagles a week ago. Injuries aside, the effort was superlative and gave me real hope that going forward, they’d play at the level their talent indicates they can play at. Against a banged-up Colts team, a close win felt like a real possibility, at the very least.

Instead, the Falcons have ripped the scales off our eyes, thrown them in the garbage, and danced a horrible dance we all wish we hadn’t seen. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this will be the game that gets Dan Quinn fired if the Falcons continue to stumble, because Arthur Blank’s patience has to be running out and two utter blowouts in three weeks are something a hot seat coach cannot survive. Believing in this talent and believing that a turnaround is around the corner is easy enough because of those stellar stretches the Falcons have had in recent years, but with the injuries piling up (Keanu Neal, Jamon Brown, and Ito Smith as of halftime) and the excuses dwindling, it’s fair to wonder if this team can weather many more weeks like this without a major change. This team had so many advantages on paper heading into this week that it’s sort of surreal to see them fail so badly across the board.

All we can do is watch and hope for the miraculous comeback, though of course it’s hard to believe that’s in the offing right now.

Use this as your second half open thread, unless you have something better to do.