Shortly after the Dolphins' destruction of the Atlanta Falcons was mercifully over, NFL Hall-of-Fame quarterback Kurt Warner was vocal on social media about his disdain for Atlanta's offense. He described the offense as boring, repetitive, and hard to watch. Falcons fans are far too familiar with the style of play that offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has pushed, and everyone's tired of it.
I love this game & breaking down tape, but I’m struggling to watch the ATL O tape!!! Predictable… boring (same plays over and over)… don’t like the spacing often… lots of miscommunication… just don’t really get it??!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) October 26, 2025
Despite an elite run game and Penix's strength in play action, the Falcons are 29th in the league with 31 play-action passes. Play-action passes aid the run game tremendously and add nuance to an offense, but Robinson avoids them like the plague.
Despite the Dolphins' defense coming into Week 8 as the 29th best rushing defense in the NFL, Bijan Robinson gained 25 rushing yards on just nine carries (2.8 YPC) before they were too far behind to even run the ball.
Kurt Warner just echoed what Falcons fans are thinking
Kirk Cousins may not be the best play-action passer in the league, but this theme has remained consistent all season long—even with Michael Penix Jr. At the beginning of the season, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky broke down the tape for everyone to see.
"Predictable is the word, I have a massive issue with the pistol with them," Orlovsky said.
The numbers certainly back up this claim, while Orlovsky added to the social media dogpile by replying to the two-time MVP's tweet in agreement.
Through the first three games, Atlanta ran the ball 70% of the time they lined up in the pistol, where Robinson started eight yards behind the line of scrimmage. They also threw the ball 93% of the time when in shotgun. Even a casual football fan can dissect and predict the offense with this type of repetition.
The Dirty Birds currently sit fifth-worst in the NFL points per game, and have scored 10 or fewer in three games thus far. Fans have seen this year after year, going back to the Arthur Smith days. 2018 was the last time Atlanta saw a top 10 offense. For reference, Robinson was a junior in high school back then.
Something has to change for this inconsistent and, at times, incompetent offense to thrive. Bijan Robinson's world-class skillset has aided his overall rushing numbers, but the play calling isn't doing him any favors.
Between Bijan, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London, the Falcons have multiple high-level skill players, but not enough to forgo play-calling nuance. Unless something changes soon, don't expect a random offensive surge in the near future.