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Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons looks on against the Baltimore Ravens at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 2, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

How fortunes have changed in less than two years for the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.

The participants in the NFC title game in January, 2017, are floundering this season. The Packers have already fired head coach Mike McCarthy.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank reaffirmed support for his coach, Dan Quinn, after a four-game losing streak dropped the team out of the playoff picture.

The game between the Falcons (4-8) and Packers (4-7-1) on Sunday at Lambeau Field was once circled on the NFL calendar as a potential matchup between contenders jockeying for a home game in the playoffs.

Instead, it’s turned into a matchup between disappointing teams each trying to avoid a losing season.

“I think what you want to do when you go through a difficult stretch is you want to make sure you take the lessons first, and when you do that, there’s something that you have to gain,” Quinn said. “Sometimes you don’t like to admit it, but that’s where the learning takes place the most.”

It sounds a lot like what the Packers are going through at Lambeau, where the future is clouded by uncertainty.

Offensive co-ordinator Joe Philbin took over as interim head coach after McCarthy was fired following the stunning 20-17 loss last week to the lowly Arizona Cardinals.

A coaching veteran with a dry sense of humour, Philbin has delivered simple messages at a time of upheaval.

“I told the offence, we’ve got to block, we’ve got to throw and catch, we’ve got to run hard with the ball. That’s really ultimately what wins games,” Philbin said. “Schemes are important, but not as important as playing guys together and playing with great effort and playing fundamentally sound. That’s really the focus.”

The Packers have lost three straight and five of six. They need lots of help to get into the postseason even if they can somehow win their last four games.

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