Look, it’s easy to see the 19 explosive plays allowed and the 519 yards surrendered and decide the defense cost Atlanta the game. That’s the surface-level takeaway. But that quick conclusion misses how often this unit steadied the Falcons while the offense kept giving possessions away.
Against the Colts, Jessie Bates III snatched his 26th career interception. A.J. Terrell Jr. battled through one big play after another. The run defense was atrocious, but what run defense hasn't been against Jonathan Taylor and that Colts' offensive line?
And the pass rush delivered seven sacks from seven different defenders, meaning they now have 13 sacks over the past 2 weeks with Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. morphing from talented rookies into a legitimate tandem.
Without this defense, the Colts’ explosive day would’ve been a runaway early. Instead, Atlanta found itself entering overtime with a chance to swipe a game it had no business still being in. And then there’s the other side of the ball…
A squad that is sinking into one of the worst third-down stretches the league has seen in more than a decade. Drives stall before they form. Momentum dissolves before the line can reset. It’s the kind of trend that forces a defense into a tough position.
Last two games: Falcons are 1-for-18 on 3rd Down (worst conversion rate over two games in the NFL since 2011)
— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) November 9, 2025
Last three games: Falcons are 3-for-29 on 3rd down (also the worst conversion rate over three games in the NFL since 2011)
The Falcons' horrid offense is giving an elite defense nothing to work with
That’s simply nowhere close to good enough. And it forced the defense to reload over and over again. Jonathan Taylor’s 83-yard touchdown run (the longest in the NFL this season) arrived at a moment when the defense had already absorbed wave after wave.
It was a breakdown, a hesitation, and the kind of punishment great runners deliver when a unit is exhausted from carrying the load for too long. Yet even after that, Atlanta still clawed its way to a 25-25 stalemate heading into overtime.
The Falcons are 3-6, losers of four straight, facing division games against the Panthers and Saints that will decide whether this season still has a heartbeat. And the truth is that they can’t keep asking their defense to hide every flaw for an admittedly subpar offense.
They can’t keep wasting strong defensive efforts with historically terrible third-down play.
With Michael Penix Jr., Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and a solid O-line, this team has no excuses not to turn things around on offense. But Falcons fans better hope that turnaround comes fast cause the season is falling apart, and fast.
But if there’s one reason Atlanta hasn’t already disappeared from the NFC picture, one reason every loss still feels oddly competitive despite everything working against them, it’s the unit holding this operation together.
Their defense is the one bright spot giving the Falcons a fighting chance, because Zac Robinson's offense is an absolute nightmare that has no end in sight.