Raheem Morris sets clear expectations for Falcons after bye week

The Atlanta Falcons entered their bye week with a 2-2 record and a couple of questions after a rocky start to the season. The NFC South team dominated two competitive teams, such as the Minnesota Vikings (22-6) and the Washington Commanders (34-27), but lost against the struggling Carolina Panthers (30-0) between those matchups. 

They will clash against the Buffalo Bills, who just suffered their first loss of the season, on Monday, to try to extend their good moment. Coach Raheem Morris has set clear expectations for the team, as he aims for the offense and defense to perform better.

Morris has been under the spotlight for the team’s early inconsistencies, but he’s confident they can turn things around, as long as they execute how they are supposed to. 

Raheem Morris sends message to Falcons ahead of Week 6 matchup 

Talking with reporters after their Week 4 win over Washington, Morris made it clear he wants to see better from the team on both ends of the ball. 

Head coach Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons looks on against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 23, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.

“So, like for us, it’s like finishing, you know, like you want to go find ways to finish some of those sacks. I think we had like 15 pressures yesterday [Sunday]. They had two sacks, you know … You want to find ways to capitalize more of those opportunities, because if you do those things, you know, you can be really effective,” Morris said. 

He touched on the offense, too. 

“On offense, it will be about continuing to let our identity come out. I think our identity came out in a major way yesterday [Sunday], when it came to running the football, and then being able to get some of those throws off and play action pass. He [Michael Penix Jr.] was 76% passing and doing some of those things. Some really good things. We got the long ball going, so to speak, yesterday. I think that was another part of it. So really just increasing those things and doing some of those different things that way,” Morris added.

The Falcons appear to be a solid team, but they have struggled to find their pace so far. Michael Penix Jr. has also drawn attention for the wrong reasons, and they hope to put all of that behind them now that they return to the field.