After a shutout by the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons enter Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season surrounded by doubts. It was a poor performance from everybody, especially second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who was benched for Kirk Cousins after two interceptions, including a pick-6.
Penix completed 16 of 38 pass attempts for 172 yards and a 40.5 passer rating. The Panthers exposed the Falcons’ weaknesses and put them in a complex position ahead of two big matchups against the Washington Commanders and the Buffalo Bills.
Atlanta now has one win and two losses, and many questions to answer if it wants to keep its playoff hopes alive. This defeat affected how the Falcons are seen around the league, and they aren’t considered a playoff hopeful at the moment.
Falcons drop four spots in latest ESPN’s Power Rankings
After a commanding 22-6 win against the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons played worse than the NFC North team. They went from No. 15 to No. 19 on ESPN’s Week 4 Power Rankings. Analyst Marc Raimondi wrote that they need to stop relying so much on the blitz.
Bijan Robinson #7 of the Atlanta Falcons
“Overall, there isn’t much to complain about. Atlanta is eighth in the league in QB pressure rate (40.4%), and opposing quarterbacks have the fourth-worst rating in the league (76.0) against the Falcons. But D-coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s system is relying quite a bit on the blitz, as no team has a higher blitz rate in the NFL (44.7%). So far, the metrics say it’s working. But that might not last forever, considering the next quarterbacks the Falcons will see are Washington’s Jayden Daniels (if he returns from his knee injury) and Buffalo’s Josh Allen,” he wrote.
The Falcons entered the season as the biggest threat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they have disappointed so far. It’s time for them to wake up and get things back on track, or the Panthers could overtake them.
