DENVER -- The Atlanta Falcons home locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was vibrating with hope and adulation two weeks ago. The team was celebrating its best start -- 6-3 -- since 2016, the last time the franchise appeared in the Super Bowl.
Fast forward two weeks to Sunday, and the mood in the visiting locker room at Empower Field at Mile High was sullen. The same team went from thoughts of controlling the NFC South to trying to shake off a 38-6 rout at the hands of the Denver Broncos.
"Pissed off," Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss said, describing the mood after the Falcons' largest margin of defeat since losing to the Dallas Cowboys by 40 points in 2021.