Following last week's harrowing loss, the Atlanta Falcons took to Madrid to face the Cinicinnati Bengals in a matchup where they desperately needed some redemption. But unfortunately, a date with one of the NFL's most high-powered offenses was not the matchup to get back on track.
Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Ja'Marr Chase propelled the Bengals to a 34-17 win over the Falcons, which marked the fourth loss in the last five games for a team who's playoff hopes were already hanging on for dear life. While they didn't look as discombobulated as they did in Tampa Bay, the Kevin Stefanski era is sputtering sooner than we thought.
Atlanta is sitting at 3-6 and their chances of the NFC South seem to be slipping with every passing day, but with the trade deadline looming, it'll be interesting to see what happens now. But before then, we have to unpack the loss, so let's go over our instant reactions from another pathetic showing.
What are the instant takeaways from the Falcons' Week 9 loss in Madrid?
A.J. Terrell was the ultimate liability
The Falcons asked A.J. Terrell to cover one of the NFL's best receivers in Ja'Marr Chase, and just like in the 2019 national championship, he lost this matchup. His M.O. has been to take out opposing team's WR1s, but this game was one where he was severely outmanned.
Terrell had a nightmare day in coverage, as he gave up a 47-yard touchdown to Chase on the opening drive and the Bengals made it to point to pick on him all game long. For one, No. 1 had his best game of the season, catching 10 passes for 155 yards and the aforementioned touchdown but he was also the primary defender in coverage on a Tee Higgins touchdown in the second quarter.
Earlier on the drive with the Higgins touchdown, the veteran was flagged for a defensive holding that negated a Gervon Dexter Sr. sack in the red zone. And given he also gave up a season-high in yards, but he was also destroyed on a run blocking play by rookie TE Jack Endries, this was pretty ugly.
I don't think the All-Pro cornerback is at full health quite yet, but it doesn't change the reality: he's been regressing for quite some time now, and it's a shame he's under contract through 2029
Jawaan Taylor cannot be retained for another season
When you run an outside zone scheme, a lot falls on the offensive tackles, and Jawaan Taylor has fizzled out after a nice start to 2026. He was called for an offensive holding that negated a big pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Kyle Pitts and a false start that helped stall a solid drive in the red zone.
Taylor was always going to be a one-year experiment, but between his penalties and his struggles as a run blocker, it's all but confirmed that the Dirty Birds will be in the market for a new starting RT next season--and could even draft his successor early on (and possibly on Day 1) of the 2027 NFL Draft.
Frankly, this team needs more stability protecting Penix's blind side without Kaleb McGary, and they're not going to find it by running it back with this guy.
Michael Penix Jr. made some nice plays with his legs for a change
Michael Penix Jr. didn't exactly light up Madrid with his arm, as he had some wobblers, but we saw a side of him we haven't seen from him in his career. He isn't known for escaping the pocket or having any sort of elite athleticism, yet he was willing to scramble for a change when nothing was open.
Penix amassed a career-high 50 rushing yards on just three carries, including a 23-yard run on their second drive. He more than doubled his previous career-high of 21 rushing yards, and even managed to surpass that number in the first quarter, which made things easier on a shorthanded run game.
Because of his injury history, the former top-10 pick has avoided taking off, but it goes to show you that as he's fully healthy, he's gaining confidence in his abilities to do more with his legs. He's not looking like a franchise guy anymore, but at least there was something to be excited about.
The Falcons need to cut bait on Nick Folk already
The Atlanta Falcons signed Nick Folk thinking he would solve their long-standing kicker woes, but nobody could have expected a downfall like this. Entering Week 9, Folk missed four field goals, including three from 50+ yards, yet this coaching staff continued to foolishly express faith in him.
It didn't take long for Folk to make them regret that. Instead of going on fourth down with a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, they turned to their kicker. However, he missed a 38-yard field goal (his first miss inside 40 yards since 2017) as he continues to prove that he cannot be relied on anymore.
The worst part is that Atlanta made him the fifth-highest paid kicker in the league and forfeited a comp pick to sign him, yet this has probably been the worst signing of the Ian Cunningham era to date.
Father Time has caught up to the 42-year-old, as he lacks the same range most kickers have nowadays, but now he's messing up the gimmes too. It might be time to leave him in Spain and search for a new kicker before this gets any worse.
Good things happen when you give Bijan Robinson the football
These last couple of weeks, the Falcons' usage of Bijan Robinson has been an issue, as between subpar run blocking and game scripts where Atlanta went down early and abandoned the run, it saw him (and the run game) struggle, but he got back on track in a major way despite the outcome.
Despite trailing for the majority of the game, the Falcons continued to feed BIjan--both as a runner and as a pass-catcher. He carried the ball 19 times for 100 yards and a touchdown and caught a team-high six passes for 47 yards. He was the centerpiece of the offense as he should be today.
They were lining him up out wide, Penix was checking the ball down to him when nothing was there downfield, and the outside zone system worked like a charm. It goes to show you that when all else fails, Tommy Rees has one of the best weapons in football he needs to rely on more often in No. 7.
The coaching staff needs to clean things up for a change
Kevin Stefanski loves to preach how the Falcons want to play physical, undisciplined football, but they surely didn't in Week 9. A lot of the same issues that have plagued this team are still there, but the biggest one was the lack of discipline, as they were called for a season-high 12 penalties in Week 9.
12 penalties cannot happen, but 88 penalty yards is just as bad. The margin for error was razor thin against an offense that was humming all game, so for as much as the Bengals beat them, the Falcons beat themselves just as much. They could not get out of their own way and made things way harder than they needed to be when they already needed to be quite sharp.
Between subpar play-calling, bad execution, and the lack of discipline, it was self-inflicted wounds that was the reason for this result--and it falls on the coaching staff more than anyone else.
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