Falcons Communication Woes Spark Problems in 30-0 Loss to Panthers

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Atlanta Falcons were drubbed by the winless Carolina Panthers in a stunning 30-0 Week 3 result in Charlotte. The blowout is just one week removed from a dominant showing on Sunday Night Football in Minnesota.

“You’d have to say no when you look at all the aspects of the game,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after the game. “That emotional win we had, you ride that emotional roller coaster, and today we hit an all-time low. Very humbling game.”

All three phases of the game can take some portion of the blame, but the offense and the overall communication were particularly worrisome.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had a brutal performance in this game, completing just 18 of his 36 passes for 172 yards with two back-breaking interceptions, including a pick-six.

He routinely looked hesitant and struggled to connect with his wideouts, opting to check down far too often. When he did make those attempts, the second-year quarterback missed open targets with too many uncatchable throws.

Criticism of the quarterback is inevitable after a game like this, but Penix is far from the only person in the crosshairs. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been a frequent target of postgame ire after some struggles by his unit through three weeks.

In Week 1, the Falcons were unable to run the ball. In both Weeks 1 and 2, the Falcons struggled with their red zone offense – this was not an issue in Week 3, but only because they did not get past the Panthers’ 30-yard line. In all three weeks, the Falcons have struggled getting play-calls in.

They have been routinely forced to burn timeouts or take pre-snap penalties coming out of said timeouts, and this flared up again on Sunday. This time, they called the timeout on 3rd-and-1 during their second possession of the game. After coming out of the timeout, they struggled to get the right personnel grouping and incurred a delay of game.

Afterwards, head referee Craig Wrolstad was heard on the open mic saying, “Atlanta has complained that their quarterback’s headset is going out.”

Morris downplayed the role this played in their struggles getting calls in, saying the headsets were fixed at some point during the ensuing series.

"We were able to get those things fixed. But we make no excuses,” he said. “We got outcoached, we got outplayed. We got beat as a team."

This has become a troubling trend for the Falcons in the early parts of the season.

Just last week, the Falcons had an identical thing happen on their first possession of the game. Penix and Robinson were unable to get the play in with the offense in the red zone, forcing a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, they were again slow to get a play off, and left tackle Jake Matthews was flagged for a false start.

Play-calls appeared to be slow coming in at times in the Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers.

“I don't know. I just do what I'm told in the headset and keep it pushing,” Penix said on Sunday. “I can't control that. I know the plays. Once I hear the play, I've just got to make sure I get the guys out of the huddle so we can go execute at a high level.”

Whether it is plays coming in too late or the quarterback not being able to get his teammates ready to snap the ball, the team is being hurt by these moments. They are either taking unnecessary penalties or wasting valuable timeouts.

The team refused to blame the headsets for their issues on Sunday, but how could they? This is not the only instance of these struggles. Morris said himself after the game that they will not make excuses. This is no different.

“We got to get a better system to be able to get those things in if something like that happens again,” Morris said. “We have to be ready for those things at all costs. We won't make that an issue. That was early in the game. I think the score was 10-0. That score ended way past 10-0. That's not the issue in the game. We won't make those excuses.”

The offense will need to show improvement in the weeks to come. Atlanta, which has scored just one touchdown in its last two games, will be challenged by several potent offenses in the Commanders and Bills that it needs to keep pace with.

If the Falcons can’t clean up their communication and execution, the margin for error will only shrink against these playoff-caliber opponents. Sunday’s loss was humbling, but now it is up to this team to prove it was just a hurdle, not a sign of things to come.