Through nine games last season, the Falcons were 6-3, in first place in the NFC South, and holding all of the cards after sweeping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This season, not so much.
The Atlanta Falcons will return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday to play the Carolina Panthers. This will be the second time the rivals will play this season, and a loss for Atlanta will virtually end the 2025 season.
Atlanta is now 3-6, after a 31-25 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Berlin, Germany. It was the first time an NFL game was played in Berlin. However, it wasn’t the first time the Falcons lost a close game this season. Sunday’s loss to the Colts was the third loss by six points or fewer this season. If you count the 10-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers on the road on Oct. 19, that’s four losses by 10 points or less.
Stats aside, a loss is a loss and the Atlanta Falcons have a lot of them.
Five NFC teams already have six wins, and another four teams have four wins on their records. A wildcard berth is most likely out of the picture, so winning the NFC South title might have to be the only way to end the current seven-year playoff drought. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom the Falcons lost to in Week 1, 23-20, are currently in first place. The Carolina Panthers are in second place.
Losing 30-0 at Carolina during week three, possibly the worst Falcons loss in several seasons, has to be avenged with a victory at home on Sunday. Atlanta is 2-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season. The victories are over the Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills, two teams that will most likely participate in the postseason.
This season’s struggles can’t be blamed on the defense. The Falcons have one of the top-ranked overall defenses in the NFL. On Sunday in Berlin, the Falcons left the field with seven sacks. That’s the most they have had in a single game since a late-season victory over the Arizona Cardinals in 2018.
Atlanta leads the league in pass defense, allowing an average of just 158.1 yards per game. For example, Josh Allen, the reigning NFL MVP, passed for just 180 yards and two interceptions during the Falcons’ 24-14 victory on Monday, Oct. 13.
The Falcons are also among the top 10 teams in third-downs allowed and first-downs allowed. But none of that is going to matter if they don’t start winning in a more consistent fashion. Atlanta has now lost their last four games.