Week 7 made it abundantly clear that it is impossible to truly evaluate the Atlanta Falcons. They were blanked by the Panthers in Week 3, dominated the Commanders, and stunned the Bills on primetime over the last month, and now the offense fell flat in a 20-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.
It was the run game where the Dirty Birds faltered, as Bijan failed to recapture his Week 6 magic in Week 7, while Christian McCaffrey ran wild for the 49ers. While Robinson was held to just 40 rushing yards on 14 attempts, McCaffrey amassed a season-high 129 rushing yards against Atlanta's top-ranked defense.
A San Francisco defense missing both Nick Bosa and Fred Warner stifled the red-hot Falcons' offense, keeping Robinson in cheeck with just 2.9 yards per carry and his second-lowest rushing total of the season—while Drake London failed to score for the first time since Week 3.
Falcons' defensive disaster fuels embarrassing Sunday night loss
Even with Jake Matthews' ironman streak continuing for his 184th start, it wasn't enough for the Atlanta offense. Penix completed just 21-of-38 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, but fumbled late in the first half—while a replay review overturned what would have been a second fumble.
Another key issue was the clock management, as for the second straight game, the Falcons came away with no points on the final drive before halftime despite landing in prime position to add to their score.
While last week it was a costly miscue from Drake London, this time it was Penix, as an intentional grounding called against the 25-year-old with 10 seconds left triggered a 10-second runoff, ending the first half.
Robert Saleh's defense has been among the best in football entering Week 7, ranking among the top 10 in total defense, but they looked even more impressive on Sunday. Unlike his previous road start on primetime, Penix looked rattled and Zac Robinson's play-calling did little to ease his burden.
Aside from their struggles containing one of the NFL's most dominant backs, the defense fared pretty well. Mac Jones was held to just 152 passing yards and an interception, while George Kittle laid a goose egg in his long-awaited return from the IR.
For a team who thought their darkest days of the season were firmly behind them, Week 7 provided a myriad of coaching miscues that has fans questioning if they jumped the gun on Falcons postseason discussions. Officiating did not help, but this was a gigantic step in the wrong direction.
This team has all of the talent in the world to do it, but execution and coaching will be the X-Factors in just how high the Dirty Birds can fly in 2025. For a fanbase who was on Cloud 9 less than a week ago, Sunday reminded fans that there is much more work that needs to be done before December.