Atlanta Falcons fans and media need to take a breath, even if they are exhausted...starving for winning, excitement, and hope.
First-year head coach Kevin Stefanski debuted with a disappointing 27–7 loss to the Denver Broncos. This rocky start follows devastating news for the defensive front, with second-year pass rusher Jalon Walker out with a torn ACL and James Pearce Jr. serving an eight-game suspension.
To understand the current standing, what about Stefanski’s history in the preseason? Winning, losing, and tendencies in personnel. Well-timed with this week of joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of preseason Game 2 later today, Stefanski historically approaches this time of season with more emphasis on these controlled practices than the preseason games.
Kevin Stefanski has a better preseason track record than you'd expect
He gives the bulk of first-team reps to starters during these scrimmages and rests them completely during the actual preseason game. This thought process can be seen replicated with Tua Tagovailoa on the bench this weekend in Indianapolis while Jack Strand and Cooper Rush split QB reps.
Stefanski spent six seasons in the same position with the Cleveland Browns from 2020 to 2025. The 2020 NFL preseason (COVID-19) was canceled and left him with a .500 record. In terms of “keeping it close”, 8-5-1 against the spread. Again, congruent with what we saw in Atlanta’s opening preseason game, he gives around 25 snaps to starters before exploring the depth of the roster solely. A nine-penalty, 78-yard display of an abundance of work to be done reflects his past and that of the recent five years of the Falcons, even with two different coaching regimes.
The Falcons have cautiously preserved health versus winning in that period, resulting in a 3-11-1 record. Fun times, right? Let’s be captain positive for one second, the bleak unpreparedness and raining of yellow handkerchiefs is usually on the menu for Week One of the regular season after no preparation on the field beforehand beyond evaluating the bottom of the roster and shining light on players the likes of Chris Blair, Vinny Anthony II, Jake Bailey, and Malcolm DeWalt IV, among others.
Think about the hardships of the last five seasons of Falcons football before Kevin Stefanksi took the reins. How has the preseason win-loss column correlated with the perennial feeling of 7-10 in the regular season? The Falcons have been one of the top teams in the NFL at keeping key offensive and defensive starters off the grass.
- 2025: 0-3 in the preseason/8-9 regular season. Favoring exploring depth receiver battles vs playing starters.
- 2024: 0-3 preseason/7-10 regular season. Wanting more Michael Penix Jr.
- 2023: 1-1-1 preseason/7-10 regular season. Thankful to have seen what we could get of Bijan Robinson.
- 2022: 2-1 preseason/7-10 regular season. Brace yourself, Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder.
- 2021: 0-3 preseason/7-10 regular season. Arthur Smith got his butt whipped with his zero-tolerance playing starters.
Stefanski’s had better preseason success in Cleveland than the recent drudgery in Atlanta this time of year.
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