Last Updated on setembro 25, 2026 9:23 am by Henrique
Visão geral da equipe
The Falcons open a new era in 2026 under head coach Kevin Stefanski. He arrived from Cleveland with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. The roster he inherited holds one of the more talented skill groups in the NFC. Atlanta also doubled down on that core in August. Bijan Robinson signed a $75 million extension, the richest ever for a running back. Drake London and Kyle Pitts are both back, alongside a heavily rebuilt receiver room.
Quarterback, however, has been the problem. Michael Penix Jr. tore his ACL in Week 11 last season and needed surgery. Tua Tagovailoa, signed for the league minimum after Miami released him, won the job in training camp. Then an oblique injury in practice sidelined him before Week 1. As a result, Cooper Rush started the first two games, and Atlanta lost both. Penix finally returns as the starter in Week 3. The Falcons have not reached the postseason since 2017. After an 8-9 finish, the market is not convinced this is the year that changes.
Análise da linha ofensiva
This is the most stable unit on the roster, and now the most heavily coached one. Atlanta hired Bill Callahan to run the group. Meanwhile, Matthew Bergeron locked up a $96 million extension at the start of August. Jake Matthews anchors the left side, while Chris Lindstrom remains one of the best guards in football. Ryan Neuzil holds the center job after growing into it over two seasons. The complication, however, is scheme rather than personnel. Stefanski and Rees are installing a wide zone and gap mix. Their quarterbacks also line up under center far more often than in 2025. That changes footwork and timing across the front. So far the run blocking has held up, producing 157 yards against Carolina. Pass protection has been shakier, with seven sacks allowed in two games. Experience should shorten the transition, although right tackle is still unsettled.
Análise da Linha Defensiva
Atlanta finished second in the NFL with 57 sacks in 2025. That pass rush, however, is now gutted. Jalon Walker tore his ACL in an August 4 practice and will miss the season. He was the versatile edge piece Jeff Ulbrich planned to build his fronts around. James Pearce Jr. led the group as a rookie with 10.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Yet he opened this year facing a possible league suspension. Behind them sits Leonard Floyd and very little else. Through two games, the front has produced just four sacks. This unit was the defense’s entire identity, so it remains the biggest reason to fade Atlanta in September.
Temporada da NFL de 2026
Semana 1
Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers | Sunday, September 13 | 1:00 PM ET | Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Atlanta opens as a road underdog at +116 on the moneyline. Pittsburgh sits at -136, with the spread at 2.5 points and the total at 41.5. The number has drifted toward the Falcons since May, when Pittsburgh opened at -3 with a 42.5 total. Both quarterback rooms carry questions. Aaron Rodgers is back in Pittsburgh on a one-year deal under new head coach Mike McCarthy. Meanwhile, Atlanta expects to start Tagovailoa without ever holding a real competition.
Subplots run deeper than the number suggests. For example, Stefanski went 6-6 against Pittsburgh across six seasons in Cleveland. Ulbrich also overlapped with Rodgers in New York, with little love lost. Still, Atlanta lacks the one thing that would swing this game. Pressure beats Rodgers, and a front without Walker, and possibly without Pearce, is a poor match for that job.
Resumo da 1ª semana
Atlanta lost 20-13 in Pitsburgo, and the quarterback question got worse before kickoff. An oblique injury sidelined Tua Tagovailoa, então Corrida de Cooper made the Week 1 start. He finished 12 of 22 for 143 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, a 51.9 rating. Pittsburgh also sacked him four times for 25 yards. Still, the Falcões led 7-3 after the first quarter on a 23-yard touchdown catch by Bijan Robinson. A 51-yard Nick Folclórico field goal then kept them within 13-10 entering the fourth.
Então T.J. Watt ended it. Fifteen seconds into the fourth quarter, he picked off Rush and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. That pushed the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead 20-10, and the Falcões never recovered. The more damning number is that this offense did not run a single red-zone play all afternoon. In fact, its only touchdown came from 23 yards out. Folk also missed two of four field goal attempts, and Atlanta committed nine penalties for 96 yards. Finally, 31 carries produced 120 yards without a rushing score.
The defensive concern showed up exactly as expected. Without Jalon Walker, Atlanta managed two sacks and six quarterback hits. The Falcons never forced Aaron Rodgers into a turnover, and he finished 24 of 41 for 221 yards. He also found Pat Freiermuth for a touchdown. To its credit, the front forced four three-and-outs and stopped Pitsburgo twice on fourth down. What it lacked was the closing speed that turned pressure into sacks a year ago. Atlanta returns home in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers, a game the market sees as a coin flip.
Semana 2
Panthers at Atlanta Falcons | Sunday, September 20 | 1:00 PM ET | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta opens as a narrow home favorite at -116 on the moneyline, with Carolina at -102. The spread sits at 1.5 points and the total at 43.5. That is the tightest spread on the entire Week 2 board. Both teams come in at 0-1, and neither gave oddsmakers much to work with. The Panteras surrendered 59 points at home to Chicago while scoring 37 of their own. Meanwhile, the Falcões managed 13 in Pittsburgh and never ran a play inside the red zone.
The total is the most revealing number here. Carolina just played in a 96-point game, yet the market still set this at 43.5. In other words, oddsmakers view the Falcões offense as the drag, not the Carolina defense as fixed. Atlanta’s quarterback situation will move this line all week. Tua Tagovailoa is working back from an oblique injury, while Corrida de Cooper comes off a two-interception afternoon. Division games also carry the tiebreakers that decided this race a year ago. So an 0-2 start here would be worse than the record suggests.
Week 2 Recap
Atlanta lost 34-3 at home to the Carolina Panthers, and the first snap set the tone. Corrida de Cooper fumbled on a scramble on the opening play. He later threw two interceptions and finished 10 of 17 for 86 yards. Kevin Stefanski benched him in the third quarter with the Falcões trailing 27-3. Undrafted rookie Jack Strand then entered to the loudest cheer of the afternoon. However, his first NFL pass bounced off a receiver’s hands, and Devin Lloyd returned it for a touchdown. No Falcons quarterback had thrown a pick-six on his first career pass since Brett Favre in 1991.
The numbers are as bad as the scoreline. Atlanta turned the ball over five times, with three interceptions and two lost fumbles. Its quarterbacks also combined for a 28.8 passer rating. For the second straight week, the offense did not run a single play inside the red zone. The only points came on a 41-yard Nick Folclórico field goal just before halftime. The run game was the lone bright spot, producing 157 yards at 4.9 per carry behind Bijan Robinson. Still, it never mattered once Carolina led by three scores.
Defensively, the Falcões actually held Carolina to 68 rushing yards and generated eight quarterback hits. What they could not do was stop Bryce Jovem through the air. He threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns with a 116.3 rating. Two of those scores went to Darren Waller, e Xavier Legette got loose for a 55-yard catch. Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. e Tua Tagovailoa watched from the sideline in street clothes. A day later, Stefanski named Penix the starter for Thursday in Green Bay.
Semana 3
Falcons at Green Bay Packers | Thursday, September 24 | 8:15 PM ET | Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Atlanta opened as a touchdown underdog on Thursday Night Football. The Green Bay Packers sat at -7 and -325 on the moneyline against the Falcons’ +260. The total opened at 44.5. Since then, the spread has dipped to 6.5 at several books. Green Bay is 1-1 after an overtime win over the Jets and plays its first home game. Atlanta, meanwhile, arrives at 0-2 with 16 points in eight quarters.
The quarterback news is the story of the week. On Monday, Stefanski named Michael Penix Jr. the starter. It will be his first start since he tore his left ACL last November. That is a clear upgrade over Corrida de Cooper, who threw four interceptions in two starts. However, a short week is a tough setting for a quarterback coming back from knee surgery. Green Bay has its own concern with Amor da Jordânia. A hit to the elbow against New York left his throwing hand numb. If Love is fine and Atlanta still cannot reach the red zone, even a touchdown cushion will not be enough.
Week 3 Recap
Atlanta stunned Baía Verde 35-14 at Lambeau Field on Thursday night. Although the Falcons arrived as 4.5-point underdogs, they never trailed after halftime. Possession was the decisive factor, because Atlanta held the ball for 37:05 against 22:55.
Michael Penix Jr., back from ACL surgery, completed 17 of 20 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Bijan Robinson carried 29 times for 194 yards and two scores. His bursts of 55 and 31 yards cracked the game open. Drake Londres added nine catches for 194 yards, including grabs of 68 and 40.
Defensively, the Falcons smothered Green Bay’s ground game to 17 yards on nine carries. Atlanta finished with 498 total yards to 328. Still, the secondary is thin, since A.J. Terrell Jr. remains on injured reserve. Thursday’s result moves the Falcons to 1-2, one game behind Carolina and New Orleans in the NFC South.
Semana 4
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints | Monday, October 5 | 8:15 PM ET | Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
A division road trip follows, and it lands in prime time. Nova Orleans sat at 1-1 entering Week 3 after upsetting Baltimore 24-17. Through two games, Tyler Shough led the NFL with 662 passing yards and four touchdowns. Chris Olave has been the engine, catching 18 passes for 268 yards. Because of that, the Saints rank second in the league at 305.5 passing yards per game.
Two angles stand out. Atlanta just gashed a strong front for 194 rushing yards from one back. New Orleans, by contrast, has been winning through the air. Still, the Saints’ defense held Baltimore to 17 points in Week 2. Whether Penix sustains anything near his 85 percent completion rate should decide this one. That answer comes under the Superdome lights.
Chances de ganhar a divisão e o Super Bowl
Probabilidades de vencer a NFC Sul: +310
Chances de ganhar o Super Bowl: +8000
Previsões
Registro geral: The Falcons project to finish around 8-9, with the win total set at 7.5 and a slight lean to the over
Chances de playoff: Live in a weak division, but on the outside looking in without a healthy pass rush
Chances do Super Bowl: A long shot priced near the bottom of the conference
Atlanta has enough offensive talent to win the NFC South. The division is also soft enough that eight or nine wins might be all it takes. The problem is what carried this team in 2025, because that pass rush no longer exists in the same form. Meanwhile, the new offense has not run a single red-zone play through two games. Penix now gets his chance to change that on a short week in Green Bay. The slow start was always likely against this opening schedule. Ultimately, the season hinges on Penix staying healthy and the pass rush finding a second threat.
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