Coming off the bye, the Atlanta Falcons' hope of a late-season surge back into the postseason mix was always going to be a long shot with the NFL's toughest remaining schedule ahead of them.
On Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, that hope was buried under an avalanche of sacks as the Falcons surrendered 21 unanswered points on the way to a 24-9 loss. The defeat drops the Falcons to 3-7 on the season and for all intents and purposes puts any pie-in-the-sky dreams of a postseason run under interim coach Raheem Morris to rest.