When it comes to disappointing fans, the Atlanta Falcons don’t fail to disappoint.
A season that many observers, analysts, fans, and the team itself thought would at least be better than the previous seasons has turned into another underwhelming 11-game stretch, where instead of a winning season (the first in seven) or reaching the playoffs, could instead mean careers decided and dreams ended at the tail end of this season.
As of Week 13, the Falcons are 4 and 7, with a .364 winning percentage. Well below the .500 they had hoped to achieve and stay above this season. They are underachieving both on the road, where they are 2 and 4, and at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where only two of their five home games didn’t end in booing Falcons fans and cheering fans of the visiting team.
As for the NFC south Standings, the Falcons can only hope for a dramatic colapse of the leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5) and hot-for-a-time Carolina Panthers (6-6) to have a shot at leading the NFC South and the chance at the Playoffs that comes with it, while trying to stack wins to “rise up” the standings and avoid replacing the rival New Orleans Saints (2-9) in the conference basement.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Falcons front office assembled, through drafts and free agency signings, the most elite defensive line they’ve had in a long time. Their offense included exciting playmakers that give prime time game watchers a highlight reel quality performance they weren’t expecting from the Dirty Birds. Kaden Elliss led this bunch with 74 total tackles this season. Jessie Bates III (71) and Xavier Watts (64) followed.
The Falcons were never a strong sacking team, even with the one-man wrecking crew, former Falcon Grady Jarrett (now with Da’ Bears), leading the defense. Now the sacks come in bunches with this new crew. The Falcons have 39 total sacks so far this season (they had 31 total in 2024), with Brandon Dorlus leading with 6 sacks.
The Falcons’ offense performance has been erratic, but good for the most part. Bijan Robinson has been a powerhouse, racking up 853 rushing yards out of 172 carries this season. Unfortunately, other teams have discovered the way to stop the Falcons is to stop Bijan, so his numbers have come down recently. Tyler Allgeier has 324 yards from 89 carries this season.
Drake London, currently out of action due to a knee injury, saw a lot of action on the field in the nine games he’s played in 2025. He got 60 catches or 94 targets for 810 receiving yards. Robinson (49 of 61 for 543 yds.), and the until recently sporadically targeted Kyle Pitts (49 of 67 for 459 yds.) were also this year’s receiving stars.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., still in the genesis of his NFL career, was supposed to be the Falcons’ answer to the question of will the team ever have a “Franchise Quarterback” after two years being without one since the departure of Matt Ryan. He’s played 14 games so far since he was selected as the 8th round draft pick in last year’s NFL Draft, weeks after plucking down millions to hire Kirk Cousins as their starting QB.
While Penix Jr. has shown flashes of brilliance, he hasn’t yet become the complete, consistent playmaking QB the Falcons need him to be.
Penix Jr. has struggled with accuracy and decision-making while making plays. In the nine games he’s been in this season (injuries have kept him off the field for at least two), he’s had 166 pass completions out of 276 attempts, a 60% accuracy rate. He’s had 1,982 passing yards, nine touchdowns, thrown three interceptions, and was sacked thirteen times. His passer rating, according to ESPN stats, is 88.5, in the same neighborhood as Kyler Murray (Cardinals, 88.6), Brock Purdy (49ers, 88.6), Caleb Williams (Bears, 88.2), and Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins, 88.1).
Penix Jr.’s season was cut short due to a knee injury. Cousins wound up throwing the ball as a starting QB again, going 48 of 75 (61%) in four games he’s played so far this season.
Penix Jr.’s name is just one of many Falcons on a lengthy injury list. At one point, 21 players were on it. The Falcons face the New York Jets today with 10 players on the injury list (not including long-term or season outs Penix Jr., London, Storm Norton, and Billy Bowman Jr.). Notice these are frontline starters, and when they are out of action, back benchers must fill in, and they have not in many cases, been able to successfully fill the void left by injured starters. The Falcons have not been able to find an answer to counter the flurry of hurt Dirty Birds sitting at home at game time.
Then there’s the biggest target of criticism, the coaching staff. Head coach Raheem Morris’s likeability and easy-going demeanor have afforded him some degree of goodwill, but his inability to directly and candidly explain losses (“We’ll fix it”) irritated fans and observers. His clock management skills and challenge of questionalbe referee calls have also been targets of criticism.
But nobody in the coaches’ room felt the heat like offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. After several disastrous games that were blamed on poor offense despite having a more than capable offensive line, Robinson was moved out of the upstairs booth and to the sidelines. This was supposed to provide more face-to-face communication with the players. That worked…for a couple of games. Then the losing resurfaced again. Another coach, WR specialist Ike Hilliard, was fired early in the season due to the team’s offensive struggles. (WR Ray Ray McCloud was mysteriously cut shortly after.)
The Falcons, who continue to struggle to reach the endzone for TDs, must rely on their kicker for crucial points. That’s why that position has outsized importance on this team. The Falcons have had three so far this season. Younghoe Koo, who’s now with the New York Giants after five seasons in Atlanta, missed several crucial kicks. Parker Romo, Koo’s replacement, was also shown the door for shanking big 3-pointers. Zane Gonzalez is the team’s third kicker. So far, he has not delivered any cringeworthy moments.
Add to all this, special teams not being so special this season, sloppy play that has led to penalties that lead to lost yardage, an earlier than usual bye week that prolonged a brutal, injury-filled latter half season, and you have a bitter recipe for another disappointing Falcons season. At least half of it.
The Falcons had some frustrating losses, but none stand out as much as the 0-30 shutout at Bank of America Stadium at the hands of division rival Panthers. In that game, Penix Jr. went 18/36 for 172 yards, no TDs, but two interceptions. The Panthers found ways to the endzone while the Falcons never saw it. The Falcons would lose games (Week 8 vs. Miami Dolphins 10-34; Week 9 vs. New England Patriots 23-24; Week 10 vs. Indianapolis Colts 25-31) much the same ways: Poor offense, spotty defense, Penix/Cousins not being up to the challenge, failure to convert third down, bad coaching, drive killing penalties, etc.
The Falcons laid the groundwork to resurrect their season enough to get slightly above .500 by winning their last game against the Saints in their home turf at the Superdome. They did it by addressing at least some of the aforementioned issues. They face another underachieving team, the New York Jets, at MetLife today. This should not have been a must-win game, but it is. Stacking wins at this point is the Falcons’ best hope for avoiding another losing season, and they cannot afford to lose back-to-back games.
The second half of this season needs to play out better than the first half, or there will be no happy (or at least comfortable) ending to this movie for these Falcons.
