A late surge to close out the year wasn’t enough to save the Atlanta Falcons’ higher management in another lost season.
Turn out the lights, the party’s over.
With a little help from Willie Nelson, former NFL quarterback and narrator Don Meredith would routinely herald closing time before it was cool on the original editions of Monday Night Football. Alas for all but one of football’s 32 finest, it’s over before the desired Vince Lombardi Trophy hoist, as the season, or at least the championship-contending portion of it, has come to an end.
With that in mind, TeamFB7 goes over the season that was for the fallen, looking at what was, what is, and what could be. The Atlanta Falcons are next after a futile quest to steal the NFC South.
Team: Washington Commanders
Record: 8-9
Date of Playoff Death: Dec. 7
Last Playoff Season: 2017
What Went Wrong
Few teams among the ranks of the immediately damned proved more perplexing than the Falcons.
Armed with the talents of the NFL’s hungriest yardage-eater in Bijan Robinson, Atlanta’s aggressively mediocre affairs were enough to finish atop the NFC South. Several heartbreaking misfires, however, will come to define the year: a five-game losing streak that stretched from October to November clipped the Falcons’ attempt to break one of the league’s longest playoff droughts. Three of those defeats came by one possession and two of that tally went into overtime.
It’s perhaps bizarre to see a team struggle with young, homegrown, legitimate offensive talents like Robinson and Drake London struggle in the modern NFL. The way Atlanta essentially found a way to do so is almost impressive in its mediocrity. It ranked at or at the near the middle of every major category with the offense, beyond the shifty, dual talents of Robinson, never finding a groove when offensive line anchor Kaleb McGary was lost for the season due to a training camp injury.
Such a conversation, of course, is headlined by the perplexing dueling investments at quarterback in both veteran Kirk Cousins and draft project Michael Penix Jr. To his credit, Penix flashed plenty of potential to get excited about (his interception percentage was second-best among regular starters this year) in his continued reign as the franchise man.
But his medical narrative surfaced again as he missed the final portions of the year with a partially torn ACL. Cousins performed equally respectably in relief but it’s simply worth wondering if the big money sent to either thrower would’ve been better used on depth instead of trying to properly compensate for failing to prepare for the post-Matt Ryan era.
Bizarrely, the Falcons found a second wind in elimination, winning four games in a row to close out the year. The breakout was partly headlined by a late breakout for Kyle Pitts, who was second among tight ends with 297 yards while tying for the lead with four touchdowns in the same span. Pitts earned second-team All-Pro honors in the end but it’s hard to tell whether that’s an exception rather than the new normal.
Atlanta decided two division titles in the process, essentially removing the Los Angeles Rams from the NFC West competition before doing the Carolina Panthers a famous favor in Week 18 by beating New Orleans (which eliminated Tampa Bay). That, however, was not enough to save the jobs of higher management.
Atlanta is looking for its fourth different head coach of the all-too-Roaring 20s after bidding Raheem Morris farewell. His departure was jointly announced with that of general manager Terry Fontenot, whose curation of young talent was not enough to save his job. The Falcons began their offseason by going back to the future, hiring Ryan as their president of football in a touted transaction.
Silver Linings
– Fontenot at least left the Falcons some solid parting gifts in his final draft. Having no first-round pick in the NFL Draft is often viewed as a multi-pronged death sentence and the 13th pick in the upcoming draft now resides in Los Angeles. But the prize proved to be well worth it in the form of Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce, who ranked at or near the top of several conventional and advanced categories. Leading all freshmen in sacks, Pearce and fellow first-rounder Jalon Walker (the regularly scheduled selection at 15th) combined for 16 sacks while middle-round selections Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. proved to be intriguing finds in the secondary, albeit with the latter enduring an Achilles injury in November.
– Whoever steps into the Falcons’ head coaching spot inherits one of more attractive postings on a whirling coaching carousel: beyond the uncertainty around the quarterback and Pitts, the Falcons’ offense features two of the more exciting young established offensive talents in the league in London and Robinson. Combine that with the current forecast in the NFC South, and the new boss may be able to succeed immediately.
Looking Ahead
Notable Free Agents: CB Dee Alford, RB Tyler Allgeier, LB Kaden Elliss, EDGE Leonard Floyd, DL David Onyemata, TE Kyle Pitts, WR David Sills, LG Elijah Wilkinson
Potential Cap Cuts: OG Chris Lindstrom ($16 million*), S Jessie Bates III ($14.02 million*), WR Darnell Mooney ($11.09 million*), LB Divine Deablo ($5.9 million), TE Charlie Woerner ($4.75 million), QB Kirk Cousins ($2.1 million)
(*—post-June 1)
If the Falcons are going to get better, they’ll have to do from within: having no first-round pick is always an offseason gut punch and they’re in the red when it comes to listed cap space. That latter issue could force them to bid farewell to some beloved franchise names like All-Pro men Bates and Lindstrom to create some space.
Adding to the attractiveness of their current coaching spot is the fact that there’s solid opportunities to promote from within, but the Falcons will no doubt go looking for some upgrades. If Pitts moves on (the best method to keep him would probably be the franchise tag after some cuts) and Mooney is released, that team is left without a proven second option for the quarterback to use behind London. Mooney has filled that option in the last two seasons but saw his momentum stifled by a collarbone injury endured in training camp (and unrevealed until November).
Speaking of the thrower, it’s still worth wondering how long the Falcons will keep the Cousins-Penix ticket rolling. Penix’s rehab will probably stretch into training camp, which could lead to another year with Cousins before he become potential trade deadline bait. Atlanta’s red cap space and lack of first-round pick further tilts the board in Penix’s favor.
As it stands, Atlanta’s first pick is slated for the 48th slot, where it should be able to find talent at both receiver and cornerback.
Is There Hope?
Until the NFC South gets its act together, there’s undoubtedly hope for the Falcons, even as constructed, to finally host a playoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
With Ryan in tow, the Falcons’ next order of business becomes who will serve as head coach. It’d perhaps be interesting to see an offensive developer like Klint Kubiak or Kevin Stefanski take over the high-octane talent on offense and develop Penix further or even see Jesse Minter or Antonio Pierce hone in on the pass rush potential of Pearce and Walker.
In any event, it’d hardly be surprising to see next year’s Falcons look similar to the most recent addition considering how sidelined they are on the cap space front. There will be some casualties (Mooney and Pitts could move on and it’ll be difficult to keep the reliable scorer Allgeier) but the Falcons feel well-positioned for a throat-clearing season in the South, one that hints at larger potential. What’ll be key on the road to that success — and take advantage of a London and Robinson still on their rookie contracts — is developing talent from within and being thrifty on this offseason front.
Previous Obituaries
- New York Giants
- Arizona Cardinals
- New Orleans Saints
- Tennessee Titans
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Washington Commanders
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
