Falcons difficult start to season extends much further than Week 3

If the first two weeks of the NFL campaign have shown us anything, it’s how ever-changing the league is.

Coming into the season, everyone was picking the Falcons to win the division. They were the ones that made all the flashy moves, while the Saints and Buccaneers did little to improve their roster. Everyone predicted the NFC South to be the worst division in football, but anybody who has watched since the start of the season is quickly realizing that to be an oversight.

The Saints, while they didn’t do much on the personnel side of things, made perhaps the biggest improvement of the offseason by firing Pete Carmichael and replacing him with Klint Kubiak. Through two weeks, they’ve totaled 88 points, averaging 44 points per contest, with Derek Carr looking like an early MVP frontrunner. They await the Falcons in Week 4 following a Sunday Night Football contest with the Chiefs.

Meanwhile, the team that’s won the NFC South three straight seasons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were also being completely overlooked coming into the year. They’re off to a 2-0 start as well after routing the Commanders in Week 1 and following it up with an incredibly impressive victory on the road versus the Lions, who many picked to win the NFC this year. Tampa Bay awaits the Falcons in Week 5, capping off a five-week stretch of games that is as grueling as any team will face this season.

The Falcons already dropped the ball in Week 1, coming out completely flat at home against the Steelers, and the road only gets tougher from here. Tonight, they’ll be in Philadelphia to face the Eagles before coming back to play the Chiefs. Both games will be incredibly difficult to win, and Weeks 4 and 5 against the Saints and Buccaneers might be even tougher.

0-2 starts with a 17-game schedule can be overcome, but with the Chiefs, Saints, and Bucs coming up, this Week 2 matchup looks a lot like a must-win all of a sudden. There were a lot of high hopes for Raheem Morris, Kirk Cousins, and the rest of this new-look Falcons team, but it’s not unfathomable to think things could get out of hand quickly if Atlanta doesn’t get a lot better, and quickly, after a dismal performance in Week 1.

—

Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire