Atlanta Falcons Given Clear Formula for Ending Long Playoff Drought

The Atlanta Falcons are three weeks away from kicking training camp off, but it is a perfect opportunity to gauge where this franchise stands as we hit the heat of summer. Locally, there is plenty of optimism surrounding the team, but where does that stand nationally? More importantly, what would it take for this team to make a run at a Super Bowl?

Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano pieced together a roadmap for all 32 teams – with some certainly being more realistic than others.

The spring produced what amounted to a very busy offseason for the Falcons, as the franchise hit the reset button with the coaching staff and front office. Matt Ryan took over at the top of the organization, with Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski installed as general manager and head coach, respectively.

This new regime quickly went to work, trimming the fat on the roster, adding a bounty of “prove-it deals” in free agency, and producing a solid draft class in April, but the more important moves have come in June. Cunningham locked up two of the Falcons’ three star offensive players (Drake London and Kyle Pitts) with multi-year extensions, and Bijan Robinson is not expected to be far behind them.

Defensively, the Falcons retained Jeff Ulbrich (the first time they’ve had a defensive coordinator return for a second season since 2022), and his unit will look to build on a record-setting 2025. His squad features several savvy veterans like Jessie Bates III, A.J. Terrell Jr., and Divine Deablo, while Xavier Watts, Jalon Walker, and James Pearce Jr. (pending his legal troubles and potential suspension) could take giant steps forward in year two after outstanding rookie seasons.

They have some holes to overcome, most notably along the defensive line and in the secondary linebackers, but the continuity will be an added benefit rarely enjoyed by this franchise.

But the question that looms largest, as Manzano notes, is the quarterback position.

Since trading Ryan in the spring of 2022, the Falcons have tried and failed on several iterations of quarterbacks. Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Kirk Cousins met uneventful ends in Atlanta, and Michael Penix Jr. will be competing to avoid a similar fate this summer with the newest addition, Tua Tagovailoa.

Whenever Penix returns to full health from his knee injury, the pair of quarterbacks will duke it out. Whoever wins that job will be expected to be the point guard in an offense ready to compete.

As evidenced by several marquee wins in 2025, the established core has enough talent to get results. Inconsistency under center and on special teams, plus several injuries that exposed the depth issues that existed on the roster, were enough to drop winnable games and bury the Falcons.

The Falcons added several established veterans to the special teams unit, plus an exciting returner in rookie Zachariah Branch, but they will be leaning on the experience of Alex Van Pelt to maximize the winner of the quarterback battle.

Tagovailoa is the early favorite to win the job, but he will need to overcome a troubling record against teams with winning records (6-17 over the last two seasons) and struggles that led the Dolphins to eat an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead money to move on from him. With Stefanski, his ability as a rhythm-and-timing passer could make him an ideal distributor.

That alone will not be enough to get them into the top tier of contenders, but it should be enough to bring added consistency to a franchise yearning for it. For the Falcons, it’s been a long time since they made the postseason (2017), but with a new-look organization, maybe this could be the season they snap that dreadful drought.

A Super Bowl run feels exceedingly unlikely for this franchise right now, but getting to the dance feels achievable. They play in a middling NFC South and could win the division with average quarterback play.

Ultimately, a one-and-done playoff appearance would feel like a win for the Falcons, and that feels within their reach in year one.

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