'The guys just don't blink': How resiliency in close games is forming the Falcons identity

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — In the postgame locker room celebration after a last-second win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, Raheem Morris had a simple message to his team.

"Don't nobody blink," Morris said. "That's who we are. That's how we're gonna be. I know we're happy about this moment, but who the f---k is next?"

Perhaps, the Falcons head coach wasn't specifically asking for another close game but the following three weeks answered his question. Atlanta's next three games were also decided in the final minutes. In Week 3, the Falcons lost by five points to the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that went down to the wire. They then won on a game-winning kick against the New Orleans Saints as time expired in Week 4. And they most recently delivered an overtime walk-off touchdown versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins said the Falcons have learned they're "battle tested" for big moments. It's evolving into the identity of the team through five weeks.

"The guys just don't blink," Morris said. "Even in a loss versus Kansas City when you don't get the 1-yard run, I don't think we had any fights on the sidelines, people looking at each other, pointing fingers at each other. It was a collective agreement to go out there and figure out how we lost that one and how do we win the next one. I think that's just the mentality that they're forming for themselves."

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Kyle Pitts said the conversation about identity dates back to early spring in OTAs. Morris was adamant that the players needed to forge it themselves, the coaching staff couldn't decide that for them.

That identity has been created through these one-possession games, which have helped the Falcons take an early lead in the NFC South. They've been able to survive in these close matchups in large part because of Cousins' veteran leadership. It's part of the reason Atlanta knew it needed to upgrade the quarterback position this offseason, and why it targeted Cousins, specifically.

"He's seen a lot," Pitts said of Cousins. "He's been in a lot of tight games, a lot of nail-biters. He's the center of the energy as the quarterback and we just feed off (of that)."

The Falcons' tight end isn't wrong, Cousins has indeed been there before. In fact, Cousins has had 16 game-winning drives in the last five seasons — the most in the NFL.

"It's his calming presence, and I think there's a belief that we can do it. I think we proved it now," offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom said. " ... I think there's a belief in what we've already achieved when we get those situations, I think there's confidence in it."

Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud also felt like these games built confidence but also character for a potential playoff run. McCloud knows a thing or two about playing deep into January and February as he spent the last two years with the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners went to the NFC Championship in his first season and the Super Bowl in the second.

"I feel like overall as a team, we know we got it," McCloud said. "We found our identity now we got to know what to do with it and how we're going to approach every game."

The identity is forming as the Falcons head into Week 6, but it'll continue to evolve as the season progresses, too.

"It's just learning as a team, learning from the mistakes and learning from the stuff that you're not great at right now — that's OK," safety Jessie Bates III said. "As long as we get there by December and continue to get better every single week, that's all that matters in finding out who we are and what our identity is."

Because while the Falcons lead the NFL in game-winning drives, they'd like to have some moments where they aren't winning by an average margin of three points. As wide receiver Drake London so eloquently said, "I would like to chill in the fourth quarter at some point."

That's what they'll look to do against the 1-4 Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The Panthers pose the latest test for the Falcons, who hope to control this game from start to finish and remain undefeated in the division, which has also been a pillar of their identity.

"This is part three of our running the (NFC) South," Bates said, "and Carolina's in the way."