The Falcons were in the playoff conversation this time last week, but things are ever-changing in the NFL, and the word playoffs hasn’t been murmured before their matchup with the Patriots. Last Monday, Atlanta was coming off their biggest win of the season over the Saints, who are a playoff-caliber team and sitting at .500 halfway through the season. As the current 7th seed in the NFC, many media pundits were clamoring about those Atlanta Falcons being a sneaky playoff team.
Well, a week later, those stories have passed, and the news cycles are onto other teams. The NFC’s playoff picture is incredibly cloudy; there are five elite-caliber teams, then many teams hovering around ordinary. There is no question which category Atlanta falls into either. The Falcons have issues at nearly every position, whether that be starting-caliber talent or just depth pieces.
The offensive line has obvious issues with Kaleb McGary, Jalen Mayfield, and Matt Hennessy. All three have experienced struggles this season, but the latter two are still developing, and Hennessy is progressing nicely. McGary is nearing that stage where it is either make or break it. Even Jake Matthews has struggled this year to run block, which is nothing new, but he’s been terrible in this area of his game in 2021. Atlanta also could use a few more bodies in the wide receiver and running back rooms.
The entire defense needs revamping, though. Grady Jarrett, Anthony Rush, Ade Ogundeji, Foye Oluokun, Erik Harris, Jaylinn Hawkins, A.J. Terrell, and Fabian Moreau have all played admirably — some making more of an impact than others; i.e., Jarrett and Terrell. Still, there needs to be serious improvement on many fronts before the Falcons are considered serious contenders. The Dallas personnel that Atlanta ran into on Sunday shows precisely how far they truly are from competing in the playoffs on a regular basis.
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