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Atlanta Falcons' seasonal demise hits new low in blowout loss to Packers

The Falcons, losers of five straight, committed 13 penalties for 100-plus yards on Sunday.

It doesn't get any lower than this.

Right?

On Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons' late-season swoon officially devolved into 'freefall' mode, the result of a decisive 34-20 defeat to the Packers.

(Don't let the close score fool you ... it was 34-7 midway through the fourth quarter.)

So, if you're scoring at home, the Falcons' once-promising midpoint mark of 4-4 ... has sunk to an eminently dreadful 4-9.

And the way things are progressing, Atlanta shouldn't be considered a favorite to win any of the three final outings--even though Arizona, Carolina and Tampa Bay all have losing records at this point.

There were two, uh, highlights from the day:

a) Receiver Julio Jones accounted for seven catches, 98 yards and two touchdowns. 

Along those lines, Jones also suckered Packers head coach Joe Philbin (interim role) into surrendering his Instant Replay challenges in the first 90 seconds. (This has to be an NFL record.)

WATCH: This Aaron Rodgers hit ... led to a nasty Packers-Falcons fight

b) Late in the second quarter, two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers scrambled for a seemingly innocent first down.

However, at the beginning stages of his feet-first slide, defensive back Brian Poole levied a shoulder-high hit on Rodgers. In Poole's defense, he led with the helmet ... but it didn't matter.

The hit prompted a wave of Packers to attack Poole, thus obliging the Falcons defenders to join in the fracas.

Most notably, check out linebacker Deion Jones to use a pro-wrestling-style tactic for handling bigger players. If this football thing doesn't work out for Jones (yes, we're joking here) ... he should lob WWE mastermind Vince McMahon a phone call.

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