Raheem Morris wasted no time making his 49ers debut look like a statement.
Under the lights of Thursday Night Football in the land down under, San Francisco rolled past the Los Angeles Rams 27-7, and Morris’ defense set the tone by smothering one of the league’s best offenses. Matthew Stafford, the reigning MVP, was held to 155 passing yards, threw an interception and finished with a 61.2 passer rating. The 49ers never needed a sack to make life miserable for him; the pressure kept coming anyway, and Stafford never settled in.
That’s what makes the night sting a little more for Falcons fans. Morris’ run as Atlanta’s head coach did not change the broader view of him much - it only reinforced that he is a below average head coach and an elite defensive coordinator. Now that he’s back in that coordinator role, reunited with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, the contrast is impossible to miss.
And this wasn’t just any opponent. The Rams came into Thursday as the likely Super Bowl favorites, which made the defensive showing even more striking. Morris’ unit made them look far worse than Rutgers did against UMass last weekend, and the performance landed even harder because it came in his first game back as a defensive play-caller.
That’s where the Falcons angle really comes into focus. Atlanta did not need to regret moving on from Morris, but his time there raises the obvious question of why he was never trusted to fully run the defense. He went with a CEO-style setup in Atlanta, with Zac Robinson calling offensive plays, but the defensive side was split between Jimmy Lake in 2024 and Jeff Ulbrich in 2025.
The odd part is hard to ignore: the Falcons had a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator in the building, yet they kept handing the reins elsewhere. Morris was back in the role that suits him best, and for the first time since 2023 with the Rams, he was calling plays on defense again.
That’s what made Thursday night so revealing. Atlanta never really got this version of Morris, and one game in San Francisco was enough to show how dangerous he can be when he’s actually steering the defense himself. For Falcons fans, it was a reminder of what they didn’t get - and a glimpse of what might have been.
In Other News...
Falcons Suddenly Have A Tua Concern They Cant Ignore
A brief scare at practice put Tua Tagovailoa back in the spotlight for the Falcons on Wednesday, as the newly named starter appeared to feel discomfort and went to the ground during the session. The issue seemed tied to the back trouble he dealt with earlier in training camp, and he did not throw again during the media portion of practice.
For Atlanta, the timing is what makes it worth watching. Tagovailoa only recently won the starting job, with Cooper Rush and rookie Jack Strand behind him on the depth chart, so any interruption in his workload immediately raises the stakes for a team trying to settle its quarterback picture. His status is expected to be clarified in the next injury report, but for now the Falcons are left waiting to see how serious this latest concern might be. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Week 1 Plan Suddenly Rests On A New Quarterback Decision
Cooper Rush did not arrive in Atlanta long ago, but he is already in the middle of the Falcons most important early-season conversation. Signed in late July, Rush took first-team reps in practice after Tua Tagovailoa was slowed by an oblique injury, a development that immediately put the quarterback picture for Week 1 into focus. With a new offense being installed under coordinator Tommy Rees, every snap matters even more as the Falcons try to get the operation steady before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rush has been part of that process in a way the coaching staff clearly values, drawing praise for his consistency and communication during practice. If Tagovailoa cannot go, Rush is prepared to handle the opening assignment, which would turn a late-summer roster move into a far bigger early-season responsibility. For a team trying to settle into a new system, the next few practices will say plenty about how quickly the Falcons can get comfortable under center. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Opener Just Got A Big Joey Porter Jr. Wrinkle
The Falcons Week 1 prep has picked up an extra layer of uncertainty with Joey Porter Jr. still working his way back from a back issue. Pittsburgh coach Mike McCarthy would not say whether the cornerback needs to complete a full practice before being cleared for the matchup in Atlanta, and Porter has only been able to work in a limited capacity while he remains in a ramp-up stage.
There is also the longer-term backdrop of Porters contract situation, which remains open with the Steelers but is not close to being resolved. Pittsburgh has a policy of not negotiating extensions once the regular season starts, so the focus for now is on how quickly Porter can build up to game readiness before the opener, even if the timetable is still not fully clear. [Read more 🡒]