The Falcons have become the NFL’s toughest read through six weeks. One Sunday, they look like a team built to chase down the NFC South. The next, they’re making the kind of mistakes that drag a season off course fast.
Atlanta’s latest swing came in a 31-23 loss to the Chicago Bears, a game that left the Falcons at 2-4 and raised even more questions about what this team really is. They opened 0-2, answered with back-to-back blowout wins, then let a late lead slip against the Baltimore Ravens before falling in Chicago. That mix of results has made the Falcons impossible to pin down.
Miles Garrett summed up the situation by pointing to Atlanta’s two bad losses, two convincing wins and two inconsistent performances affected by quarterback play. At this point, nobody knows who this team is yet.
That’s the heart of the problem. The Falcons have shown enough to suggest they can hang with quality opponents, and they’ve already beaten the Packers and Saints. But they still haven’t put together the kind of steady, complete football that good teams find week after week.
Sunday made that even clearer. Atlanta had a chance to reset after the Baltimore letdown, but instead it was buried early, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter and entering the fourth quarter down 31-7.
The self-inflicted damage piled up too. Rookie Zachariah Branch muffed a punt that the Bears recovered at the Falcons’ 10 yard line, which led to another touchdown. He also fumbled a kickoff return in what was described as his worst performance as a pro.
Michael Penix Jr. tried to pull Atlanta back into it, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half. The late rally gave the Falcons something to hang onto, but they were already chasing too much by then. Atlanta should not have needed to climb out of a 24-point hole just to make the final score respectable.
Penix is clearly part of the picture, but he can’t be expected to rescue a team that spends most of the afternoon cleaning up its own mess. The bigger issue is that the Falcons have not been sharp enough in the coaching department, with Kevin Stefanski, Tommy Rees and Jeff Ulbrich all getting out-coached in the last two games.
And now the uncertainty is becoming a real concern. The version of Atlanta that dismantled Green Bay looks capable of taking on anyone.
The version that trailed Chicago 31-7 looks nowhere close. With the 6-0 San Francisco 49ers coming to Atlanta next week, that kind of week-to-week whiplash is a serious problem for Kevin Stefanski in his first season as head coach.
There have been inconsistent Falcons teams before, including both Raheem Morris teams, but this feels different. Some stretches make Atlanta look like a legitimate playoff contender.
Other stretches make the team look like a top-five draft pick waiting to happen in the 2027 NFL Draft. For a new regime, that level of unpredictability is the last thing you want.
In Other News...
Falcons May Have Started A Front Office Trend Fans Didn't Expect
The Colts decision to move on from Chris Ballard has opened an unusual front-office path, and it traces back to Atlanta. Indianapolis is reportedly looking at Peyton Manning for a possible executive role, a move shaped in part by the Falcons decision to bring Matt Ryan into the organization as president of football. For a franchise searching for its next direction, the idea is to lean on a face of the franchise who understands the building from the inside, even if he has never run a front office before.
Mannings name has become part of the early discussion as the Colts sort through what comes next, with the team also weighing how much responsibility such a role would actually carry. He could be asked to oversee the hunt for a new general manager and other key hires, in a structure that would look more like Ryans Falcons post than a traditional GM job. The question now is whether Manning would even want that kind of commitment, given his existing obligations and the fact that his executive rsum is still largely theoretical. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Make Another Urgent Edge Rush Move As Depth Crisis Grows
The Falcons kept digging for help off the edge, adding Charles Snowden from Washingtons practice squad and clearing room by releasing Bralen Trice from the 53-man roster. It was the latest sign that Atlanta is trying to stabilize a position group that has been stretched thin by injuries and suspensions, forcing the front office to keep turning over the bottom of the roster for usable bodies.
Snowden arrives with a chance to plug into a defense that needs immediate depth, even if the move comes with some obvious risk. Atlanta is operating in an urgent spot along the edge, and the roster shuffle reflects how quickly the team has had to react as absences continue to pile up at one of its most important spots. [Read more 🡒]
Bijan Robinson Just Exposed A Falcons Problem They Can't Ignore
Bijan Robinsons day in the Falcons Week 6 loss to the Bears was a reminder that his role in the passing game goes beyond catching the ball and creating mismatches in space. With Atlantas offensive line already having issues handling Chicagos blitz looks, Robinson was asked to help in protection, and the snaps in that area became a real problem for a team that leans on him in so many ways.
What makes it tougher for Atlanta is that the Bears were not even at full strength up front, yet the pressure still found its way through. If Robinson is going to stay on the field for all the situations the Falcons want from him, the pass-blocking piece has to tighten up, because that part of his game can shape both his effectiveness and how often the staff trusts him in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]