Dan Quinn took charge of the Falcons' defense this season with the intent of helping the team meet high expectations of playoff contention. Atlanta fell to 1-4 with Sunday's 53-32 loss to Houston in which the Texans racked up 592 yards of total offense, so it's hard to believe Quinn is doing a good enough job to keep his job.
Just three years ago, the Falcons at this point in the season were 4-1 and on their way to Super Bowl 51. Now they are buried in the NFC South behind the Saints (4-1), Panthers (3-2) and Buccaneers (2-3) before even playing a division game.
The Falcons have gone from good complementary football with quarterback Matt Ryan playing at an MVP level to a debacle of a team with no running game or defense, putting everything on Ryan to save the day. That won't work in the NFL, especially when Ryan also is consistently being pressured into mistakes and taking a high volume of hits.
WATCH: Full Falcons vs. Texans highlights
Atlanta somehow came into Sunday's game with the No. 8-ranked total defense, allowing 324.8 yards per game. But it was 22nd in scoring defense, allowing 24.8 points per game, a number that will continue to increase given what happened in Houston.
The Falcons keep giving up a ton of big plays. Last week, they allowed a dormant Titans offense with Marcus Mariota to explode. This week, Deshaun Watson and the Texans did whatever they wanted running (166 yards) and passing (426 yards), stamped by wide receiver Will Fuller catching 14 passes for 217 yards and 3 TDs.
There are several talented bodies left on the Falcons' defense, even with safety Keanu Neal out with another season-ending injury. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, cornerback Desmond Trufant and inside linebacker Deion Jones are paid like big-time playmakers. Outside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell and safety Ricardo Allen are solid.
The problem is the lack of any edge pressure, something Quinn always had with the elite Seahawks defenses he coordinated. Investments in first-rounders Vic Beasley Jr. and Takk McKinley have yet to pan out.
Remember that the Falcons moved on from Richard Smith as defensive coordinator going into 2017, not long after they infamously blew their 28-3 lead to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Then came Marquand Manuel, who couldn't get the desired results for two seasons, hampered by a big rash of injuries last season. Beyond the win-loss record, the fact that the defense still isn't delivering under Quinn's play-calling watch is more writing on his wall.
Similarly, the post-Kyle Shanahan offensive coordinators, Steve Sarkisian and Dirk Koetter, have not been able to figure out how to make the Falcons an effectively balanced team again. They instead have further increased the burden on Ryan with a putrid rushing attack.
The volatile combination has blown up in the Falcons' faces; the biggest example came against the Texans and the Falcons' former-ballboy-turned-elite-QB, Watson. Quinn set a high bar for his team with his big second season, and since then, team owner Arthur Blank has seen the Falcons go from Super Bowl team to wild-card team to just below .500 to well below .500.
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The perception that the Falcons should be much better doesn't help. In reality, their issues were bound to linger with their limited shake-up of personnel and their turning the offense over to the pass-happier Koetter.
With the loss Sunday, the Falcons went from not improving to free-falling. Blank admitted he is not yet ready to make move, but the Falcons play the Cardinals next week; if they can't beat that fellow one-win team before a gauntlet schedule that includes the Rams, Seahawks, Saints and Panthers on the horizon, then all thoughts of a midseason turnaround will fly out the window.
Blank is more patient than most team owners, but the past successes of Quinn's predecessor, Mike Smith, gave the former coach only a short two-year stay after his last playoff team.
Quinn is in the same danger zone with a season that might get worse before it gets better.
