Falcons head into bye week on 2-game losing streak and reeling from worst defeat since 2021

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are still in first place.

That's about the only good news heading into their bye.

The Falcons (6-5) have lost two in a row and are reeling from their worst defeat since 2021, a 38-6 shellacking at the hands of the Denver Broncos.

“You can take a grenade and just throw it on the whole game,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Monday. “You've got to kind of reset and start over from the beginning.”

The main thing working in the Falcons' favor is geography. They are the lone team in the NFC South with a winning record, putting them in prime position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017 even with the two-game skid.

The key is not to let the sting of those defeats have a lingering effect after the week off.

“You always want to go into the bye off a win because it just makes the bye that much sweeter. We didn't get that done," linebacker Kaden Elliss said. “So you learn from it, you grow from it and then you flush it. We'll get away for a little bit and come back rejuvenated and ready to roll.”

Younghoo Koo made a pair of field goals, including a 51-yarder, to ease some concerns about his recent struggles. Bradley Pinion averaged 50 yards a punt.

That's about it.

Where to begin?

On the offensive side, QB Kirk Cousins has failed to throw a touchdown pass in back-to-back games for the first time in his starting career, while the running game was held to a season-low 50 yards.

The defense allowed 400 yards to the Broncos and had no answer for rookie QB Bo Nix, who completed 28 of 33 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns. The Falcons have yet to figure out a way to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, ranking last in the league with just 10 sacks through 11 games.

S Jessie Bates III forced a fumble for the fourth time this season, tying him for the NFL lead.

Cousins, the $180 million quarterback, has struggled mightily the past two weeks, with two interceptions, no scoring passes and six sacks. RB Bijan Robinson was held to 35 yards on 12 carries. The Falcons' defense gave up 199 yards after the catch, the most it has allowed this season.

The bye week came at an opportune time for the Falcons, who are as banged up as they've been all season.

CB Mike Hughes (neck), nickel back Dee Alford (hamstring), ILB Troy Andersen (knee), DL Ta’Quon Graham (pectoral), DL James Smith-Williams (tibia), TE Charlie Woerner (concussion), ILB JD Bertrand (concussion) and DB Antonio Hamilton Sr. (pectoral) didn't suit up against the Broncos. Graham and Smith-Williams both went on injured reserve.

Then, during the game, four more players went down: WR Darnell Mooney (hamstring), CB Kevin King (concussion), DL Zach Harrison (knee) and WR Casey Washington (concussion).

2.4 — Average yards per carry against the Broncos, which was a season low for what had been an effective running game.

After the week off, the Falcons return to action with two straight challenging games. They host the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) on Dec. 1, followed by a trip to Minnesota to face the Vikings (8-2) on Dec. 8.

If Atlanta gets through that gauntlet, the schedule looks more favorable the rest of the way. Three of the last four games are against teams (Las Vegas, the New York Giants and Carolina) with a combined record of 7-23.

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Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) sacks Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) sacks Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) prepares for a play against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, front, looks at the scoreboard as he leaves the field with wide receiver Darnell Mooney in tow after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett heads off the field after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins considers a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A state judge on Monday struck down Wyoming's overall ban on abortion and its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy in line with voters in yet more states voicing support for abortion rights.

Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens' ruling was consistent with her three previous orders since 2022 to block the laws while they were disputed in court.

The ruling marks another victory for abortion rights advocates after voters in seven states passed measures in support of access.

One Wyoming law that Owens said violated women's rights under the state constitution bans abortion except to protect to a pregnant woman's life or in cases involving rape and incest. The other made Wyoming the only state to explicitly ban abortion pills, though other states have instituted de facto bans on the medication by broadly prohibiting abortion.

The laws were challenged by four women, including two obstetricians, and two nonprofit organizations. One of the groups, Wellspring Health Access, opened as the state’s first full-service abortion clinic in years in April 2023 following an arson attack in 2022.

“This is a wonderful day for the citizens of Wyoming — and women everywhere who should have control over their own bodies," Wellspring Health Access President Julie Burkhart said in a statement.

The recent elections saw voters in Missouri clear the way to undo one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans in a series of victories for abortion rights advocates. Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, meanwhile, defeated similar constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place.

Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana. Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they’ll need to pass it again it 2026 for it to take effect. Another that bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” prevailed in New York.

The abortion landscape underwent a seismic shift in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and cleared the way for bans to take effect in most Republican-controlled states.

In the Wyoming case, the women and nonprofits who challenged the laws argued that the bans stood to harm their health, well-being and livelihoods, claims disputed by attorneys for the state. They also argued the bans violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment saying competent Wyoming residents have a right to make their own health care decisions.

As she had done with previous rulings, Owens found merit in both arguments. The abortion bans “will undermine the integrity of the medical profession by hamstringing the ability of physicians to provide evidence-based medicine to their patients,” Owens ruled.

The abortion laws impede the fundamental right of women to make health care decisions for an entire class of people — those who are pregnant — in violation of the constitutional amendment, Owens ruled.

Wyoming voters approved the amendment amid fears of government overreach following approval of the federal Affordable Care Act and its initial requirements for people to have health insurance.

Attorneys for the state argued that health care, under the amendment, didn’t include abortion. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who signed the abortion laws into effect in 2022 and 2023, did not immediately return an email message Monday seeking comment.

Both sides wanted Owens to rule on the lawsuit challenging the abortion bans rather than allow it to go to trial in the spring. A three-day bench trial before Owens was previously set, but won’t be necessary with this ruling.

FILE - Protesters wave signs and chant during a Women's March, Jan. 20, 2018, in Casper, Wyo. (Josh Galemore/The Casper Star-Tribune via AP, File)

FILE - A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)