FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - For the second straight year, an abysmal start has made the NFL playoffs a distant dream for the Atlanta Falcons even before the midpoint of the season.
That's bad news for coach Dan Quinn, who may have difficulty saving his job if he can't find a way to avoid a second straight losing record come December.
The Falcons take a four-game losing streak into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams (3-3), the reigning NFC champions who will return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time since their 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII in February.
"You can't say you shouldn't be where you are," Quinn said regarding Atlanta's 1-5 start. "This is where we are. I would say you're frustrated but you want to do something about it. ... It's certainly my job to fix the issues that come up."
The Falcons gave up a combined 87 points in road losses to the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals the past two games. That's especially ominous for Quinn, who this season took over control of the defense after making a change at all three coordinators' positions after the Falcons went 7-9 in 2018.
He was the Seattle Seahawks' coordinator on that side of the ball in the 2013 and '14 seasons as their "Legion of Boom" defense helped them make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, with one resulting in a title. He also coached Atlanta to the Super Bowl to cap the 2016 season, his second with the Falcons, but the better memories of that playoff run grow more and more distant for fans.
Now the Falcons have two straight home games, against the Rams and the Seahawks, before their open date that falls in the middle of the schedule. They have yet to play a division game this season, so of their eight second-half games, six will be against NFC South opponents.
Atlanta cornerback Ricardo Allen smiled when asked if the 49-year-old Quinn, who had never been a head coach before joining the Falcons, has shown signs of feeling pressure.
AP photo by Ross D. Franklin / Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn, left, shakes hands with Arizona Cardinals counterpart Kliff Kingsbury after Sunday's game in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won 34-33 as Atlanta's losing streak reached four games."Coach Quinn is an OG," Allen said.
Quinn? Original gangster?
"He's like one of the best because he hasn't changed," Allen said. "Winning Coach Quinn and Coach Quinn with the losses, he's still the same man. He still tries to put as much positivity into his team. He still tries to be the guy to make sure we're doing things the right way."
Allen said Quinn "is not the guy who bears down and yells. That's even tough for me to watch from the sideline because I'm like, 'Man, I want to be cussing people out.'"
Longtime Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said Quinn "has been awesome" because "he's so consistent day in and day out" although his specific "message is always different. It's fresh and it hits home to where we're at as a team, and he's done that the entire time he's been here."
Quinn is 37-33 in five seasons.
Secondary coach Jerome Henderson, in his fourth season in Atlanta, said Quinn "still remains positive and energetic and wants to make sure we're giving our guys 1,000% of ourselves and our energy ... despite the circumstance."
Quinn's defense has allowed an average of 31 points per game to rank last in the NFL this season. Atlanta is tied with the Miami Dolphins for last in the league with only five sacks, with none in the past three games.
Last year, a rash of injuries earned much of the blame as a 1-4 start proved costly. The defense again lost safety Keanu Neal to a season-ending injury last month, but the Falcons have come up with new ways to lose. Last Sunday's 34-33 loss to the Cardinals was capped by Matt Bryant's missed PAT that would have tied the game with less than two minutes to play.
Quinn said the team's misfortunes "are maddening and I don't have a good reason for why."
"Sometimes the ball will bounce your way and you go, 'That was cool,'" he said. "The other times you've got to be - fill in the blank."
Allen said Quinn remains unwavering those "other times."
"That's Q," Allen said. "That's how he's always been. He's steady. He's the same dude, winning and losing. We're going to fight for him."