How can you not be excited about the direction of the Falcons?
For a fan base that has been dragged through disappointment for most of its existence, that’s not a throwaway question. Atlanta’s current postseason drought has made hope feel fragile, like it’s always one bad stretch away from getting ripped away again. But through the first seven weeks, the Falcons have given plenty of reason to believe something real is building under new leadership.
It starts with Michael Penix Jr. The quarterback spot has been the sticking point ever since the team traded Matt Ryan to the Colts, and Atlanta entered the season with plenty of uncertainty there once again. Not all of those questions are gone, but Penix has looked like a franchise quarterback since coming back from an ACL injury.
In games he’s started, Atlanta is 3-2, and that record could easily be 4-1 if he hadn’t gotten hurt on the final drive of regulation against the Ravens. He’s completing just under 67% of his passes, seven points better than he came into the season with, and his QBR sits ninth in the league. Penix also has a 109.2 passer rating, with nine touchdown passes and only one interception.
There are still real questions about his health, and those aren’t going anywhere. But on the field, he’s looked the part.
He has only a season’s worth of starts, is working back from a season-ending injury, and is just five games into a brand-new offensive system. Even with all that, the early return suggests this could be the start of something much bigger - and maybe the closest Atlanta has come to solving quarterback since 2017.
The rookie class has added another layer to the optimism. The Falcons entered the draft without a first-round pick, so this wasn’t exactly a situation built for splashy reinforcements. Even so, the new regime appears to have hit on four significant contributors.
Avieon Terrell has started in the secondary every time he’s been healthy. Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. have already become difference-makers at the second level of the defense.
Zachariah Branch has shown off his explosiveness in the third phase. All four look like players who can matter in Atlanta for a long time, and three of them came off the board in the third round or later.
That kind of hit rate matters. It says the front office can identify talent, and it gives the organization a lot more credibility as this rebuild takes shape.
The offseason work may be even more convincing. The rookie class is part of the story, but the trades and free-agent additions are what really make the case that Ian Cunningham and Matt Ryan know what they’re doing.
Maason Smith and Gervon Dexter Sr. were major trade pickups, and both have transformed the middle of Atlanta’s defensive line. Those moves gave the Falcons a front worth building around, especially once James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker return.
And they didn’t stop there. Za’Darius Smith was brought in late after the injury to Jalon Walker and already has 4.5 sacks in six games.
Cam Thomas signed a one-year deal worth just over $3 million and has added a couple of sacks. Samson Ebukam came in on a similar deal and has 2.5 sacks of his own.
That edge group was in rough shape. Atlanta lost Pearce and Walker before the season even began, and there wasn’t much cap room to work with.
Cunningham and Ryan still found the right bets, and so far, every one of them has paid off. With more money to spend next offseason, the Falcons may be positioned to do even more damage.
In Other News...
Falcons Rookie Kendal Daniels Made This 49ers Breakout Even More Remarkable
The Falcons Week 7 win over the 49ers had plenty of good moments, but rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels turned it into a coming-out party in a way Atlanta will remember. Daniels made his presence felt late, stepping into a starting role after recently working back from a neck injury and showing the kind of poise and confidence that can change a game in a hurry.
Daniels said he was grateful to his teammates for supporting him through the recovery process and for the trust the Falcons showed by drafting him and giving him a shot to start. For Atlanta, the performance was encouraging on its own, and even more so because it came from a rookie who had already shown he could bounce back from adversity and make a real impact when the pressure was highest. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Penix Just Answered A Huge Question Against San Francisco
Michael Penix walked into a tough matchup against San Francisco with plenty still to prove, and the Falcons left with something more valuable than just a win. Against an undefeated 49ers team, the quarterback showed he could handle the kind of stage and defensive look that usually tests a young passer, helping Atlanta come away with a result that will travel well as the season moves on.
What stood out was how Penix got there. Faced with a zone-heavy defense, he didnt force the issue or try to live exclusively off the deep ball, and that adjustment helped him stay efficient throughout the afternoon. For a Falcons offense still learning what it can be with him at the controls, it was the kind of performance that suggested there may be more than one way for him to beat a defense built to take away his favorite routes. [Read more 🡒]
Kendal Daniels Opened Up About The Toughest Part Of His Return
Kendal Daniels made a swift and important return for the Falcons after the neck injury he suffered in Week 6, and the rookie linebacker wasted little time reminding everyone why Atlanta wanted him on the field. Cleared after medical evaluations showed no structural damage and no concussion, Daniels came back to help the Falcons knock off the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers, leading the team with 11 tackles while also making plays that helped swing the game.
The toughest part of the comeback, though, was not just getting back into a uniform and back into the middle of the defense. Daniels had to work through the reality of an injury that naturally lingers in a players mind, even after the doctors clear him, and his return carried the extra weight of doing it in a high-profile win against one of the NFLs hottest teams. For Atlanta, the encouraging part is not only that Daniels was available again, but that he looked like a central piece of the defense the moment he stepped back in. [Read more 🡒]