The Falcons walked out of Week 6 with a 31-23 loss to the Bears, and the box score only tells part of why it felt so rough. Atlanta was beaten on special teams, stressed on offense, exposed in coverage, and left trying to salvage respectability with a fourth-quarter rally that came too late.
Chicago set the tone early and never really gave it back. With Caleb Williams back in the lineup, the Bears came out sharp, built a 21-7 halftime lead, and finished the job despite Atlanta’s late push. The Falcons also did themselves no favors, turning it over on downs twice, coughing up two fumbles on special teams, and seeing rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels leave on a cart with a gruesome injury.
Michael Penix Jr. still produced three touchdown passes and helped fuel the comeback attempt, but this game added another layer to the concerns around him when the pocket collapses. ESPN research showed Penix faced pressure on a career-high 46% of his dropbacks and was blitzed on 51% of them, the second-highest blitz rate of his career. He also lost two fumbles, including one on the final offensive drive, when Atlanta had a shot to tie the game with a touchdown.
That was the kind of afternoon it became for the Falcons: a constant battle against pressure, and one they didn’t handle well enough. Dennis Allen’s defense got home despite Chicago being without Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, using DB blitzes to harass an Atlanta offensive line that should have had the edge.
The defense had its own issues, even if it wasn’t the biggest reason for the loss. Atlanta did a decent job against Chicago’s run game, even with D’Andre Swift scoring two touchdowns, but the secondary had a far tougher time.
Without A.J. Terrell and C.J.
Henderson, the Falcons were shorthanded on the back end, and Caleb Williams took advantage by completing 30 of 36 passes. Chicago also converted 9 of 17 third downs.
Special teams was where the game really tilted. Atlanta had already lived through season after season of trouble in that phase under Marquice Williams, and those headaches were back under new special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman. Zachariah Branch, brought in to help clean that up as a return man, ended up hurting the Falcons instead, with two special teams fumbles that produced a 10-point swing for Chicago.
Branch has also begun pushing Olamide Zaccheus for snaps as the WR3, but this performance is bound to complicate his path to more offensive work.
Another problem that keeps showing up is Mike Hughes. He was thrust into the starting lineup again because C.J.
Henderson was inactive with a groin injury and A.J. Terrell remains on IR, but the results were bad once more.
Pro Football Focus had Hughes targeted six times, with six catches allowed for 78 yards. Whether it was Luther Burden, Rome Odunze, or someone else, the Bears kept finding him.
Jeff Ulbrich called Hughes a "high-level starter" earlier in the week, but that label didn’t hold up here. Once Terrell is activated next week, Hughes should be headed back to the bench.
And then there’s the offense itself, which still doesn’t look as inventive as it should with Bijan Robinson in the backfield. Atlanta scored 23 points, but the approach was surprisingly ordinary for long stretches.
With Chicago moving the ball on the other side, the Falcons should have leaned into long, controlled drives and let Robinson set the pace. Instead, they spent too much time throwing.
Even before the game got away from them, the run game wasn’t featured enough. The passing concepts were basic, the screen calls on second down kept derailing drives, and neither Robinson nor Drake London made much of an impact. Tommy Rees has to find better ways to get both of them involved.
In Other News...
Falcons Pass Rush Suddenly Feels Thin As Bralen Trice Reenters Picture
The Falcons made a notable shuffle on defense ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the Bears, signing edge rusher Bralen Trice to the active roster and bringing safety Jammie Robinson back to the practice squad. Atlanta also elevated Robinson and defensive end Drake Jackson for the game, another sign the staff is trying to keep enough bodies available as it pieces together the weeks defensive plan.
Trice has already appeared in three games this season and has shown some pass-rush potential, which makes his move to the 53-man roster worth watching beyond just the transaction wire. With Robinson and Jackson supplying extra depth, the Falcons are clearly leaning on every available option to shore up a defense that needs more pressure off the edge and more flexibility across the front. [Read more 🡒]
Former Falcons Punter Dies At 35 After Long Cancer Battle
Kasey Redferns death at 35 has sent another wave of sadness through the NFL community, including the Falcons circle that saw him briefly in a regular-season role. The former punter, who played for seven teams from 2014 through 2019 and also appeared for Detroit, was remembered for a career that kept him moving from stop to stop while he fought a serious illness away from the field.
Redfern died on Oct. 13 after a three-year battle with brain cancer and central nervous system lymphoma, leaving behind his wife, Lauryl, and their two sons. For Atlanta, his name is a reminder of how quickly a player can pass through the building and still leave a lasting mark when the news years later is about far more than football. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons May Have Waited Too Long On Cameron Thomas
Cameron Thomas was supposed to be one of the low-risk additions the Falcons made in March, a one-year flier to help fortify the edge. Instead, he has become one of the most productive pieces of their pass rush at a time when injuries and suspensions have left the front looking thinner than planned, turning a modest signing into an increasingly important part of the defense.
Through five games, Thomas has already forced his way into the conversation as a player the Falcons may need to secure before his value climbs any higher. Atlanta still has cap space to work with, and the longer this kind of production continues, the more sense it makes to think beyond the short-term deal and into what it might cost to keep him from testing the market with momentum on his side. [Read more 🡒]