Staff Writer: Brett Hamilton
The Falcons are in their 61st season and are working to improve their 8-9 record from the past two seasons, with this being the first season under the new management of coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Ian Cunningham. This change was made during the offseason after former general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris were both fired following the end of the 2025 season; the team also unveiled a new uniform during April of 2026.
This is Stefanski’s second head coaching job; he was previously the coach of the Browns from 2020-2025 and will return to Cleveland in Week 13 for the first time since he was fired by the Browns. This will also be Ian Cunningham’s first time as general manager, although he has had a very extensive career in the NFL, starting after he was released by the Chiefs and then joining the Ravens as a personal assistant, where he was promoted to area scout in 2013 and served a total of nine years for the team and made the playoffs six of those nine years. He has also been a part of the Eagles, where he was director of college scouting before being promoted to assistant director of player personnel and then director of player personnel; he also won his second Super Bowl while with the team.
Week one, the Falcons played against the Steelers and lost by a seven-point difference, 13-20, somehow after initially having a 7-3 lead during the first quarter before losing it to the Steelers as they scored 10 points in the second quarter, taking them to a 13-7 lead. The Falcons started to catch up in the third quarter, bringing it to 10-13 before the Steelers absolutely dominated the fourth quarter, extending their lead and ultimately finishing the game with a 20-13 victory.
Continuing to Week 2, the Falcons would then face off against the Carolina Panthers, where they fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2022 with a 3-34 loss in front of over 71,000 people at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Onto Week 3, where the Falcons would play at Lambeau Field for the first time since 2008, the Falcons would improve their 0-2 record to 1-2 with a shaky beginning as the Packers led 7-0 before the Falcons would take control during the second quarter, surpassing the Packers with 10 points and continuing to dominate the field, gaining another 14 points during the third quarter, bringing the total to Falcons 24-7 before ultimately ending the game as the winning team and adding a final three points in the last quarter.
The Falcons would then gain their second win of the season at the Caesars Superdome in Week 4, starting strong with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before gaining another 10 points in the second, leading the game 24-7 while continuing to demolish New Orleans with a 31-10 lead before heading into the fourth quarter. They would end the game with a 45-24 victory and a 21-point difference. This makes it the Falcons’ third consecutive win against the Saints and their biggest win against them since December 5, 1999, when the score was 35-12.
The next game is scheduled for October eleventh at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they will face off against the Baltimore Ravens. It is anyone’s game; however, based on the Ravens’ current season, they are on a four-game win streak, so it could be a very close game, but only time will truly tell.
During Week 6, they are scheduled to play against the Bears, who had a very strong start to the season, beating the Panthers 59-37 and winning a 9-3 game against the Vikings before going on a two-game losing streak. They first lost to the Eagles 7-27 and then to the New York Jets 12-23, so it is very possible the Falcons could beat them. Although I would say the Bears demolished the Panthers during their first game and, as mentioned earlier, the Falcons did not do great against the Panthers, so I would say that given their current performance, the Falcons probably have about a 75/25 chance of beating them, but only time will truly tell.