It’s all in front of the Atlanta Falcons

It was difficult not to be optimistic about the Atlanta Falcons over the spring and summer, and it was very difficult to be optimistic about them after Week 1. We had seen the story play out too many times—promise, hype, speculation turning into an early cratering, disappointment, and cold hard reality—to see the listless loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers as anything but a bad sign.

I was among those preaching patience while also expressing real concern. How many times had we seen the Falcons either start the season in a tailspin or descend into one quickly since that last winning season in 2017? Essentially every year, and so seeing a tough but uneven defensive effort paired with Kirk Cousins and the offense melting down set off a few heart palpitations in everyone. Where would the Falcons go from there?

The answer, though in fits and starts and with plenty of ups and downs, was someplace new. The Falcons knocked off the Eagles in primetime with a phenomenal drive, took the Chiefs nearly to the wire in a tough loss, and then rattled off back-to-back incredible, last-minute wins over division rivals in the Saints and Buccaneers . They're suddenly 3-2, atop the NFC South, and with a roster and coaching staff that is proving adaptable and a passing game that looks legitimately frightening.

It's all in front of these Falcons. There's a third divisional matchup against the woeful Panthers on the way to help Atlanta run their record to 3-0 if they can pull off a victory, which would put them in an excellent spot in the NFC. There's manageable (if still tough) game against the Seahawks after that, another crack at the Buccaneers the week after that with a chance to put them in a deep divisional hole, and then the scuffling Cowboys and woeful Broncos sandwiched against the final NFC South game against the Saints. By mid-November, the Falcons will be done with five of their divisional games and have a chance to take a commanding lead there.

While the Vikings and Commanders look far more dangerous than they did over the summer, the final weeks of the season will see Atlanta face the likes of the developing Chargers , struggling Raiders, miserable Giants, and a Panthers rematch around them. There are challenges to overcome and there will be unexpected obstacles, and that doesn't include the shaky state of the pass rush, a team that's making too many sloppy mistakes, and legitimate questions about run blocking and ground game efficacy. It won't all be pretty, and they won't all be victories.

But we shouldn't overlook the size of the opportunity in front of these Falcons, or the fact that they're rounding into the form they'll need to take advantage of that opportunity. They've spent most of the past several years trying to catch up in the division, either because of a dismal record against their rivals or because their rivals were simply better despite their own success in NFC South games (see 2023). They haven't had a combination of an opportunistic defense and a quality passing game working together since, I dunno, that inexplicably great late 2019 run? We're in waters we haven't charted recently.

The reasons for optimism do abound, though. The Falcons found a winning formula against a Buccaneers offense that had just spanked the Eagles and had been rolling by the second half, actually getting pressure and holding them to six points. They put the brakes on a strong Saints offense, too, and the secondary has looked like a genuine team strength. Kirk Cousins is finding his way and spreading the ball around to what now looks like a formidable set of weapons, and we have not seen the best Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier can offer yet for a variety of reasons. With Drew Dalman potentially returning in a couple of weeks, Troy Andersen and Nate Landman on the way back shortly, and a coaching staff that's showing an ability and willingness to adapt to challenging circumstances and team failures, the Falcons are in a good spot right now.

The reflex is there to follow this up with "but here's a list of things that aren't going well," but we'll have to have that conversation if the team's very real warts start to sink them. Right now, it feels both justified to put the spotlight on how positive things look and how much this Falcons team can achieve if they can keep finding the sort of week-to-week improvement that have made these three wins and a close loss to the undefeated Chiefs possible.

Big predictions and these Falcons have rarely mixed well, so I'm not going to tell you anything grand just five games into the season. We just need to know—and the Falcons do know—that it has been a long time since the road was so open and the sun so bright for this football team. It's time to take full advantage.