The Atlanta Falcons don’t need to reinvent themselves. They don’t need a new coordinator, a new scheme, or to experience a midseason identity crisis. The key to righting the ship is already on the roster, already in the playbook and already proven to work.
The Falcons just need to lean into it. The identity has been there all along. This team was built around physicality. It was built to control tempo. It was built to punch first. But somewhere along the last few weeks, that identity faltered.
Atlanta’s offensive engine has always been Bijan Robinson, and when the Falcons operate through him, they look like a team capable of competing with anybody. His ability to change direction at full speed, to run through arm tackles, to create explosive plays where none should exist is special.
And the rest of the league knows it.
Falcons need to feed Bijan Robinson if they want to snap this losing streak
Analysts across multiple outlets have pointed out that the 23-year-old is not just one of the Falcons best players — he’s one of the best players in the league. When he’s featured, the offense flows. When he’s not, drives stall and defenses tee off on Michael Penix Jr.
We saw it again in Week 9. When Robinson touched the ball with rhythm and structure, the offense found life. When the Falcons drifted away from that, the offense sputtered. The coaching staff doesn’t need a think tank to understand the lesson. It’s the simplest one in football:
Feed your star. Let him set the tone. A young quarterback benefits from stability
Penix's Week 9 performance was a rollercoaster. There were highlight-level throws layered between moments of hesitancy and learning-on-the-job reads. That’s normal. He’s a talented quarterback working his way through NFL speed in his second year as a first time full time starter.
The best way to bring him along isn’t to ask him to win every down. The best way is to steady the offense around him — and there is no better stabilizer than a consistent run game.
When Robinson and Tyler Allgeier are allowed to dictate early downs, Penix can attack off play-action, throw on schedule, and avoid living in obvious passing situations. That reduces turnovers, protects the offensive line, and makes the offense harder to predict.
Atlanta has the pieces. They just have to trust the formula. The defense starts with fixing their lack of production against the run too.
While the Dirty Birds have quietly built one of the strongest pass defenses in the league, the run defense has been less consistent. Jeff Ulbrich emphasized recently that being sound on early downs is how this defense unlocks its pass rush.
If you can’t stop the run, you never get your pass rushers into favorable situations. It’s that simple. This isn’t about exotic blitz packages. It’s about gaps, discipline, and tackling. If Atlanta cleans up the run defense on early downs, they’ll create more 3rd-and-long situations. And when that happens?
The pass rush suddenly looks a whole lot better. The path forward is clear The Falcons don’t need drastic changes. They don’t need to throw 40 times a game. They don’t need to chase fireworks.
They need to do these things:
1. Run the offense through Bijan Robinson more
Not just touches — rhythmic, intentional usage where he sets the pace.
2. Commit to early downs physicality on defense
Win the run. Then let your pass rushers do their thing on passing situations.
3. Let Penix grow
He’s still developing and he’s a raw quarterback. Let him cook. The solution is right in front of this Falcons team to turn their season around. The Falcons don’t need to find their identity. They just need to remember it.