Jessie Bates Pinpoints Key Issue Plaguing Falcons Season

While it sounds like a basic thing to point out, it's a situation that holds true for why the Falcons can't get the job done

Bates felt the Falcons fall short in each game | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons lost their seventh game in eight weeks, falling 37-9 to the Seattle Seahawks. As Atlanta drops to 4-9 on the season, they were effectively eliminated from the playoffs and locked in their eighth consecutive losing season.  

Postgame, safety Jessie Bates offered a candid assessment of why the Falcons continue to fall short.

“Yeah, we just haven’t found a way to put four quarters together,” Bates said following the loss. “That’s pretty disappointing.” 

The Falcons have put together some great quarters of football, and even some great halves, but not once this season have they put together 60 minutes of good football. In Week 1, Atlanta dominated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter. They held them to two straight three-and-outs to start the game, and scored a touchdown in three plays to take a 7-0 lead.

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— Arkesh Ray (@arkeshrayyyy) September 7, 2025

Would the Falcons go on to win the game? No, they scored just three points in their next four drives of the first half and wound up losing the game 23-20. 

The closest Atlanta would get to four quarters of good football was against the Washington Commanders in Week 4, but even then, the Falcons barely scraped out a 34-27 victory against a team missing its starting quarterback and best wide receiver, while Atlanta also stalled out twice in the red zone due to self-imposed mistakes. 

In Week 6, the Falcons had a 21-point first half (a yard short of a 28-point showing) against the Buffalo Bills. In the second half, the team scored a total of three points. As Bates said, four complete quarters of football have been hard to come by. 

In Week 10 vs the Indianapolis Colts, the Falcons were holding on to a 22-17 lead with roughly six minutes to go in the game. Running back Johnathon Taylor then broke a huge 83-yard touchdown run to take the lead on a play the defense admittedly gave up on. 

It’s just been blunder after blunder for this Falcons’ team, which has found itself in some close games this season (and some not so close ones), but just can’t figure out how to win them. 

In the end, the 2025 Falcons’ season has been defined by flashes of promise, followed by costly collapses. As Jessie Bates said, they haven’t been able to put together four full quarters of football, and now the season has slipped away and frustrations are piling up for the Falcons. This will be an offseason that should be full of change for Atlanta.