The Falcons’ slide is easy to pin on the defense after 61 points allowed over the last two weeks, but the offensive side has plenty of blame to go around too. Atlanta has dropped to 2-4 after back-to-back home losses to the Bears and Ravens, and the offense took a major step backward in Sunday’s 31-23 loss to Chicago.
That game plan is where the criticism starts. Since Michael Penix Jr. returned, the Falcons had been leaning into an offense built around his strengths: a run-heavy approach, physical play at the line of scrimmage and play-action chances downfield.
It worked against the Packers and Saints, with Atlanta averaging 40 points per game in Weeks 3 and 4. But that formula went missing against the Bears.
Tommy Rees, not Kevin Stefanski, is the one being singled out for the lack of adjustment. The offense clearly wasn’t helped by early unforced errors, but the execution never reached a level that could overcome them either. What stood out most was how far the Falcons drifted from what had been functioning.
The biggest head-scratcher came in the usage of Penix. Entering Week 6, he had lined up under center on 56.3% of his snaps this season, a clear shift from Zac Robinson’s pistol-heavy approach.
Against Chicago, though, that changed sharply. According to SumerSports, Penix lined up under center on just 24% of his snaps, with 74% coming from shotgun and 2% from the pistol.
That kind of switch makes little sense when the earlier version of the offense had been working. The only obvious explanation would be Penix’s injury, and even then the move felt like a retreat from concepts that had actually been helping the offense.
There was also the issue of how the Falcons handled Chicago’s pass rush. The Bears were without their two best players in Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, yet Atlanta still seemed overly cautious.
Dennis Allen out-coached Rees, and the frequent screen calls did not solve the problem. The offensive line’s struggles against blitzes did not help, but the burden is still on the play-caller to answer pressure from a shorthanded front that has not exactly been dominant this season.
The frustration only grows when you look at how Atlanta used its top weapons. Bijan Robinson is the best running back in the NFL, and he finished with only nine carries and 11 total touches despite averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Even with the Falcons trailing, there was no clear reason not to involve him more in the passing game. Kyle Pitts also had a big day, but he had only one reception going into the fourth quarter.
That should not happen with his role and talent.
The offense finally found some life in the fourth quarter, but by then the damage was already done. The larger concern is that teams are beginning to sort out this attack, and Rees has not adjusted fast enough.
Atlanta has the kind of personnel that should force defenses to choose their poison, with Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Jahan Dotson all capable of stressing a defense in different ways. Instead, the Falcons went away from what had been working.
For now, this felt like Rees’ worst game as play-caller this season. Penix is looking more and more like a solid quarterback, but the answer for this offense is not to abandon the run and try to win by airing it out.
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Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch said Evans availability for the game against the Falcons is still to be determined, with the team planning to monitor him over the next few days. For Atlanta, that makes this one worth watching closely, since Evans has been a key part of the 49ers passing game this season and his presence or absence could change how San Francisco approaches the matchup. [Read more 🡒]