The Atlanta Falcons did not have to do much thinking about their future when their season ended Sunday.

The team did not even wait for Black Monday, as it fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Sunday night.

The Falcons hired Morris ahead of the 2024 season, selecting him over candidates such as Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Macdonald and Ben Johnson.

But Morris’ results were not what the Falcons wanted, going 8-9 in back-to-back seasons.

“I have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward,” owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership. I wish Raheem and Terry the absolute best in their future pursuits.”

Wildly enough, the team’s record is the same as the division champion Carolina Panthers’, so the Falcons were just one win away from making the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. One of those losses was to the New York Jets, who would have had the first pick in 2026 instead of the second if that game’s result had been reversed.

Atlanta wound up winning their final four games, but it was not enough for them, or Morris and Fontenot.

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Morris previously served as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, winning a Super Bowl with them. He held numerous roles with the Falcons before going to Los Angeles, including serving as their interim head coach in 2020.

Morris initially replaced Arthur Smith, who served as the team’s head coach for three seasons. Smith is now the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who would make the playoffs with a win Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Perhaps the Falcons are kicking themselves for choosing Morris over several others. Vrabel won the AFC East in his first season with the New England Patriots, Johnson won the NFC North in his first year with the Chicago Bears, and Harbaugh is back in the playoffs with the Los Angeles Chargers.

There should be several names available to the Falcons, who are desperate to make the most of Michael Penix Jr., who will enter his third NFL season in September.

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DENVER — The game was the understudies versus the underwhelmings.

The second-string Chargers against the … wait a second, the top-seeded Denver Broncos only generated 240 yards and failed to score an offensive touchdown?

Such is the AFC this season, filled with teams who flash one week and fizzle the next.

Sunday’s regular-season finale — which the Broncos won, 19-3 — was far more competitive than it should have been, especially considering the lopsided incentives.

Whereas the Chargers were playing for pride and only modestly consequential postseason seeding, Denver’s stakes were two miles high: a free pass to the second round, and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl.

How unsettling that the Chargers could even make the game interesting, having rested 14 starters, including Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert.

The Chargers now turn their attention to a first-round game at the 14-win New England Patriots, who have averaged 34.4 points in the five games since the beginning of December, on Sunday at 5 p.m. PST.

It’s another opportunity for Herbert to notch his first playoff victory. In his six seasons, the Chargers have had two one-and-done appearances — an epic collapse at Jacksonville in the 2022 season and a four-interception loss at Houston last season.

“With the way he’s played this season, this could be a breakthrough,” receiver Keenan Allen said. “Everything we want is still right in front of us.”

That’s not exactly true. Allen reeled in two hefty items on his wish list. He needed nine more receiving yards for a $250,000 contract bonus, and six more receptions for a $750,000 payout. He finished with seven catches for 36 yards — jackpot!

“It’s nice to get that out of the way,” he said, smiling broadly.

Allen was one of the few seasoned Chargers veterans to set foot on the field. Watching from the sidelines were offensive starters Herbert, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and the entire starting offensive line.

So backup quarterback Trey Lance, making a rare start, had a collection of blockers that was even more hodgepodge than usual — and going up against the NFL’s sack leaders, no less. The Broncos came into the game with a club-record 64 sacks.

They got to Lance four times, and although that might be impressive, the Chargers collected four sacks of their own, two by backup defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia.

“That was dope,” star edge rusher Khalil Mack said of the performance by second-stringers.

Mack sat out, as did All-Pro safety Derwin James Jr., linebacker Daiyan Henley and safety Elijah Molden. All will be back for the Patriots game.

The Chargers have beaten the Patriots in their last two meetings, including a 6-0 win two years ago in Foxborough. This is the first time the teams have played with these head coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel.

“That’s the kind of game that defines your season,” Harbaugh said. “Our focus and attention is on that.”

Sunday’s game was a foregone conclusion before kickoff. Yes, the Chargers were 5-0 against AFC West opponents, but their primary aim was to stay fresh for the playoffs.

The Broncos, meanwhile, were so laser-focused on securing that No. 1 seed that coach Sean Payton instructed the videoboard operators to scrap the goofy games during breaks in the action. He wanted the crowd thinking about decibels, not distractions.

Denver running back RJ Harvey is tackled by Chargers defenders during the second half Sunday.

(C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images)

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From the start, Denver looked on track. On their first possession, the Broncos drove from their 13 to the Chargers’ six, setting up the first of four field goals by Wil Lutz.

Who would have suspected that, after those 81 yards, Denver’s offense would generate only 31 more the rest of the half?

Put simply, Denver is a weird team. The Broncos have trailed in 12 of their 14 wins, and this was the second time this season they won without scoring an offensive touchdown. Naturally, there were incentives Sunday to staying as vanilla as possible on offense as not to reveal more to future opponents, although this is a team that already has put 17 games on video.

This game was either an offensive stinker or a defensive masterpiece, depending on your perspective.

Both quarterbacks led their team in rushing. Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards with an interception. Denver’s Bo Nix was 14 of 23 for 141 yards.

Top Milwaukee Brewers prospect Frank Cairone was hospitalized after being involved in a serious car accident near his New Jersey home on Friday, the team announced.

“Frank is currently being cared for at a hospital in New Jersey with the support of his family,” read a statement from the team, via MLB.com. “The Brewers’ thoughts and prayers are with Frank and his family during his difficult time.”

The left-handed pitcher turned 18 this past September. He was drafted out of Delsea Regional High School in Franklinville, N.J. at No. 68 overall in the 2025 Draft. 

News of the Brewers’ young prospect’s accident came shortly after the team announced it was not in contact with several players in Venezuela after U.S. military strikes in the country and the capture of its President Nicolás Maduro. 

MLB TEAM UNAWARE OF STATUS OF PLAYERS IN VENEZUELA AFTER US MILITARY STRIKES

Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold revealed the team is unaware of the status of the players in a statement Saturday.  

“We don’t have much info at the moment but are trying to follow up,” Arnold said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We know the airports have been shut down but not much beyond that.”

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The team’s players in Venezuela include star outfielder Jackson Chourio, infielder Andruw Monasterio and catcher Jeferson Quero, according to the outlet.

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