7 Takeaways in Atlanta Falcons Brutal Loss to Carolina Panthers

The Atlanta Falcons jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first half, but the offense dried up, and the Falcons couldn't hold up against Bryce Young, who turns into Steve Young against Atlanta.

The Panthers outscored the Falcons 18-6 over the last 32 minutes as the teams went to overtime tied 27-27.

The Falcons had the ball first in overtime. They misjudged a kickoff and got the ball on the 20, had an ineligible man downfield penalty, and a dropped pass to go backwards a yard before punting.

The Panthers used a big play and a 28-yard field goal to win the game 30-27.

The NFL’s Best Backup?

Michael Penix Jr. was playing well into the third quarter when he was injured on a third-down blitz. Kirk Cousins came in for him with the Falcons leading 21-19. Cousins looked much more poised and comfortable than he did in his start against the Miami Dolphins last month.

Cousins engineered a two-minute drive to get the Falcons into field goal range after they coughed up the lead. Zane Gonzalez made good on his second field goal of the day to force overtime.

Cousins was 3 of 7 for 20 yards in his four drives in regulation. Cousins was 0-2 on the Falcons' only drive in overtime, but to be fair, a Kyle Pitts drop didn't help.

The Falcons will be moving on from Cousins as soon as the season is over, and he hasn't proved to be even worth the extra $10 million they're paying him for still being on the roster this year.

Pass Rush Making a Difference

The Falcons invested heavily in their pass rush in the offseason, and it paid off against the Panthers on Sunday. The Falcons harassed quarterback Bryce Young all game and recorded five sacks, not including a sack by James Pearce Jr. on a two-point conversion attempt that proved crucial in the second half.

Atlanta had a team record seven players get a sack last week against the Colts. Four different players recorded a sack on Sunday afternoon.

Improvement on 3rd Down

The Falcons were 4 of 11 on third downs, a slight improvement over the 10.9% conversion rate they had in their previous three games. Part of the improvement was being better on first and second down, and another part was getting to the line of scrimmage in a timely manner.

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Both aspects were on display on the Falcons’ first third down of the second half. It was third and two after a short pass to Kyle Pitts. The Falcons came to the line of scrimmage with 18 seconds on the play clock as both inside linebackers showed blitz.

Penix made an adjustment at the line of scrimmage and threw a short pass to London behind the blitzing backers.

On the same drive, the Falcons were forced to punt after a penalty turned a second and one into a second and 10. An incompletion later, Penix was crushed by a blitz in a must-pass situation.

Atlanta was so effective on first and second down in the first half that they had 17 first downs, and only three third down attempts.

Darnell Mooney has Left the Building

Darnell Mooney has been a net negative for the Falcons this season. He broke his collarbone the very first day of training camp, and seemingly hasn’t returned. He caught Michael Penix Jr.’s first pass of the game for a short gain, only to promptly cough it up. Mentally speaking, he never returned from the injury he suffered in July.

Mooney redeemed himself in the second quarter with a tough third-down catch in the red zone that will likely cost Panthers defender Corey Thornton some money in fines for targeting.

However, he dropped another second and 11 in the third quarter, and that probably wasn’t “Mooooooney” he was hearing after the play.

The Falcons will save $7.5 million on the salary cap when they move away from Mooney this offseason. Atlanta doesn’t have a first-round draft pick, but they should be able to get a good receiver in the second round, and they’ll need to spend in free agency to add two new receivers next year.

The Falcons need receivers, and they need cornerbacks in the offseason.

Speaking of Receivers

Despite the lack of receivers for the Falcons, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson had persisted in going with three on the field (11 personnel) even after Atlanta cut Ray-Ray McCloud. Casey Washington and David Sills combined for 7 catches for 83 yards in the Falcons’ four-game losing streak.

Charlie Woerner is considered one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL, and he was finally reinserted back into the lineup. The Falcons went almost exclusively to two tight ends (12 personnel) in the first half, and had XX yards .

You get What You Pay For

A million bucks doesn’t go as far as it used to. Jamal Agnew was signed to a one-year, $1.7 million contract to be the team’s return specialist. He’s been a dreadful signing. Like Mooney, he was lucky to not lose a fumble after muffing a punt in the first half. It cost the Falcons’ some field position, but they answered with a 13-play 95-yard drive for a touchdown.

Had the ball bounced another direction, the Falcons could have been down 14-7 instead of up 14-7 with eight minutes left in the first half.

Unfortunately for Natrone Brooks, the ball did bounce the other way in the second half. After being exposed as a cornerback, Brooks put the ball on the turf on the ensuing kickoff, giving the ball back to the Panthers at the Falcons’ 27-yard line.

The defense had a vital stand to force the Panthers to turn the ball over on downs. It could have been what amounted to three-straight scoring drives for the Panthers, without the Falcons having a possession (not counting two plays to end the first half).

Old-school Falcons fans will remember Jerry Rice torching Charles Dimry for five touchdowns. Brooks had a day like that on Sunday. Young passed for over 400 yards against the Falcons, and it seemed like 350 of them went against Brooks.

The return game has been atrocious for the Falcons this year, both in coverage and returns.

About that “Premium Position” Thing in the Draft

General manager Terry Fontenot was panned in 2023 for taking running back Bijan Robinson with the No. 8 pick in the draft. After all, teams shouldn’t spend a top 10 pick on a non-premium position like running back.

Stop.

There is no over-drafting a game changer, and Bijan Robinson is a game changer.

NOBODY'S stopping @Bijan5Robinson 😤

FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/1ShehpFrdC
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 16, 2025

The Falcons showed the good in the first half, and the bad in the second half as they fall to 3-7 on the season. Atlanta is 5-13 in their last 18 games. Surely there are massive changes coming at season's end?