The Atlanta Falcons ran into a familiar face from the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10. His name is Dan Quinn. Someone smoked his former team. The Falcons are left to pick up the pieces from a blowout loss.

Here are four Falcons takeaways from their Week 10 game.

Atlanta Falcons Week 10 Takeaways

4. The 4-4 record and the team's identity as a playoff threat were not real

The Falcons had hoped that their recent run of wins pointed to substantial improvement and the ability to compete with the best teams in the NFC. That turned out to be a mirage. Let's be real: The New Orleans Saints with Trevor Siemian are not the same as the Saints with an aging but still capable Drew Brees. Atlanta did well to win that game in the Superdome, but it's not the same as beating Brees.

Similarly, the Falcons' other wins — over a bad Miami Dolphins team, a bad New York Giants team, and a bad New York Jets team — are commentaries on how bad those teams are, not on how much better Atlanta was becoming. This team did not evolve so much as it caught teams at the right time (Saints) or played plainly inferior opponents (Dolphins, Giants, Jets).

If the Falcons are going to prove they're for real, beating the New England Patriots on Thursday night would be a good way to do it. Obviously, Atlanta will be an underdog in that game, and skepticism will be warranted.

3. Falcons need to start over on the offensive line

The Dallas Cowboys were hungry, coming off a bad loss to the Denver Broncos in this wild, jarring NFL season in which one week seems to have absolutely no connection to how the next week will unfold. The Falcons had to know the Cowboys were going to be mad in Week 10. They had to know the Cowboys were going to throw their best punch and brace for the violence of this confrontation.

They weren't prepared.

The Falcons didn't even manage a garbage-time touchdown. The Cowboys had a point to prove, and they kept the foot on the pedal on defense the whole game (the offense did relax in the fourth quarter; otherwise this game could have ended 57-3).

Matt Ryan isn't at the height of his powers, but he isn't a completely washed-up quarterback, either, as his late drives against the Dolphins and Saints have shown. In order for Ryan to have any real chance, though, his offensive line needs to be above-average, which means it will stand up to good defensive fronts.

The Falcons did not stand up to the Cowboys' front. Atlanta allowed two sacks and plenty more pressures. Atlanta gained just 214 yards and failed to score even when the game was already well out of reach.

2. Dan Quinn took this game personally

The most obvious aspect of this blowout is that Dan Quinn, the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, relished putting the boot on the throat of his former team. Quinn coached the Falcons within an eyelash of a Super Bowl championship. They blew a big lead against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

Quinn never recovered from that loss; neither did the Falcons. Quinn's defense — a group of players who obviously knew how much this game meant to him — never stopped going full-speed. It helped Dallas that Quinn knew a lot of Matt Ryan's tendencies, but even after Ryan left late in the third quarter, the Cowboys did not relent. Everyone in AT&T Stadium or watching on television knew this game was important for Dan Quinn.

The Falcons paid a steep price.

1. The big picture remains unchanged: This team needs to fully rebuild

The Falcons have, to this point, refused to admit they need to fully rebuild the roster and start fresh. It's not just the offensive line. It's everywhere. Getting a thrashing like this ought to lead to a final acknowledgment that a halfway or in-between approach will only keep this franchise stuck. It's time to seriously remake the team. If the offseason focus was unclear before this game, it shouldn't be unclear any longer. Decisions made in 2022 need to reflect that changed approach.