The Atlanta Falcons have pulled the pin on yet another unsuccessful era, firing both their head coach and general manager in a ruthless post-game move.

Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos captured a top seed in the NFL playoffs while the Carolina Panthers backed into their first post-season berth since 2017 without taking the field on a hectic season-closing Monday morning (AEDT).

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Atlanta finished its season on a four-game winning streak but finished third in the NFC South with an 8-9 record, and after a post-game meeting with franchise owner Arthur Blank, coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot were dismissed from their positions.

“I have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward,” said Blank in a statement just hours after the Falcons’ 19-17 home win over New Orleans.

“The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership.”

Morris owned a 16-18 record over two seasons in charge of the Falcons, while Fontenot this year capped his fifth campaign in charge for a record of 37-48 with no playoff appearances to show for them.

BRONCOS, PANTHERS EMERGE BIG WINNERS

The Broncos (14-3) claimed the AFC top seed, a first-round bye and playoff home-field advantage by defeating the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 19-3.

Ja’Quan McMillian’s 45-yard interception return touchdown gave Denver a 10-0 lead and Wil Lutz added field goals of 23, 26 and 41 yards in the second half to secure a triumph over the playoff-bound Chargers (11-6).

A Denver loss would have opened the door for New England, which routed Miami 38-10 as Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeon Henderson each ran for two touchdowns.

The Patriots (14-3) settled for the AFC second seed and will host the Chargers in their playoff opener.

Had Denver and New England both lost, the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4) would have swiped the AFC top seed after routing the Tennessee Titans 41-7 to close the season on an eight-game win streak.

Trevor Lawrence threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns for Jacksonville, which will host Buffalo in a playoff opener next week.

Seattle (14-3) claimed the NFC top seed on Sunday with a 13-3 victory at San Francisco.

Carolina and Tampa Bay were relegated to spectators as their playoff fate was settled when the Atlanta Falcons beat visiting New Orleans 19-17.

Tampa Bay’s 16-14 triumph over Carolina on Sunday left both clubs 8-9 and the Falcons matched them atop the NFC South division by beating the Saints.

In a three-way head-to-head results tie-breaker, the Panthers took the division crown and playoff spot, Tampa Bay having needed a Saints win or draw to reach the playoffs.

“Proud of everybody,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said. “It took the whole season capturing opportunities to be in this position and we’re ready to chase the next championship opportunity in front of us.” Atlanta’s Zane Gonzalez kicked his fourth field goal, a 38-yarder, to give the Falcons a 19-10 lead with 2:52 remaining. New Orleans answered on Tyler Shough’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell with 1:11 to play, but the Saints could not recover an onside kick attempt and Atlanta ran out the clock.

The Los Angeles Rams will visit Carolina in next week’s playoff openers. The NFL’s final playoff berth will be decided later when the Baltimore Ravens visit Pittsburgh for a winner-take-all showdown to decide the AFC North title. The loser misses the playoffs and the winner hosts Houston in a playoff opener next week.

The Texans (12-5) stretched their win streak to nine games by defeating Indianapolis 38-30, the Colts losing their seventh game in a row.

Chicago lost 19-16 at home to Detroit but took a second seed when Philadelphia lost 24-17 to Washington. That sends San Francisco to Philadelphia and Green Bay to Chicago for playoff openers.

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PACKERS ARE PLAYOFFS-BOUND … BUT LAFLEUR ON HOT SEAT

Matt LaFleur might have work to do to keep his job.

Despite being one of the NFL’s winningest coaches, at least in the regular season, his job security with the Packers is reportedly not firm.

Fox NFL Insider Jay Glazer listed LaFleur in his “time will tell” list of potential head coach firings across the league.

“You’re talking about Matt LaFleur also,” Glazer said on the “Fox NFL Sunday” show. “Why’s he on the board? Matt LaFleur’s job security has been questioned weekly at his press conferences. Which would be crazy to move on from a guy like that, but he’s there.”

The Packers are locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC, so they did not have anything to play for in their clash against the Vikings on Monday.

As a result, they rested quarterback Jordan Love, despite him clearing concussion protocol, along with a few other starters.

Currently in his seventh season with the team, LaFleur entered Monday with a 76-39-1 regular season record, including three-straight 13-win seasons (and three-straight NFC North titles) when he had Aaron Rodgers across the first three seasons of his tenure.

He has only missed the playoffs once in his tenure — in 2022, when the Packers went 8-9.

But he also has repeatedly fallen short in the postseason — last year, the Packers were eliminated in the wild-card round by the Eagles.

And this year marked his fourth straight year not winning the division they once dominated.

The Packers entered this season with massive expectations, having pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire star edge rusher Micah Parsons and with Love in his third season as a starter.

But Parsons tore his ACL in Week 14 and the Packers have struggled down the stretch of the regular season, carrying a three-game losing streak into Monday.

With another playoff shortcoming, the Packers could look to shake things up.

“I feel like you’re always coaching for everything in this league, you know? That’s just my mindset,” LaFleur said earlier this season.

“It’s always been that way. You can’t ever exhale. You gotta always be pushing. That’s just my mindset and that will be my mindset ’til they tell me not to coach anymore.”

GARRETT SETS RECORD IN TOUCHING SCENES

Several playoff-qualified teams rested their starters ahead of next week’s post-season openers.

The Houston Texans (12-5) stretched their win streak to nine games and took the AFC fifth seed by defeating Indianapolis 38-30, the Colts closing the season with seven losses in a row.

Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a career-high six field goals, including a game clincher from 43 yards with 12 seconds remaining.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett set an NFL record for quarterback sacks in a single season by taking down Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 20-18 road victory.

Garrett raised his season total to 23 sacks, eclipsing the old record of 22.5 sacks shared by T.J. Watt from 2021 and Michael Strahan from 2001.

And in touching scenes, Garrett was overcome with happiness as his teammates instantly mobbed him. He later celebrated with his mother, who could be seen elated in the crowd.

However, not everyone was thrilled with the Browns star achieving the all-time feat — none less so than Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor, who was unhappy with the fact referees stopped the game after Garrett’s historic 23rd sack to honour the pass-rusher.

“We’re playing for our lives here … in a critical moment like that … we were trying to be on the ball and tempo, and we couldn’t do anything.”