The Falcons are now in territory they haven’t experienced since that “magical” 2013-2015 stretch, when they were a losing or .500 football team for three consecutive seasons. They’re injured, they’re dispirited, and they’re just not very good, all of which is extremely unwelcome after a Super Bowl berth and Divisional Round game in back-to-back years.
The Packers are in similar territory. They had Mike McCarthy as their head coach for nearly 13 years, enjoying stability and a lot of winning, including a single Super Bowl victory, over those years. This year they’re just plain bad in an NFC North where the Bears are rising, the Vikings are still pretty good, and the Lions are the Lions.