4 Keys for the Atlanta Falcons to break their playoff drought

The Atlanta Falcons must execute these keys to break their playoff drought

The Atlanta Falcons were able to make the playoffs during the 2016 and 2017 NFL Seasons. Obviously, they lost in Super Bowl LI and then were able to sneak into the playoffs the next year. That next year, they were able to beat the Rams but then fell a couple of yards short of beating the Philadelphia Eagles, who ended up winning the Super Bowl.

Also Read: Falcons have the NFC South's longest-tenured head coach and quarterback.

Since then, it has been dismal; the Falcons have gone 7-9, 7-9, 4-12, 7-10, and 7-10, for a combined record of 32-40 and zero playoff appearances.

With that being said, 2023 is a new year for a team that looks vastly improved. If this Falcons team can execute these four keys then they can end their long playoff drought.

Key No. 1: The Atlanta Falcons must simplify things on offense

One of the very few problems I had with Arthur Smith's play calling last year was his stubborn attempts at trying to get the deep passing game going despite the fact that Marcus Mariota proved he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if it was 20 yards away.

The Falcons would have their running game rolling until a deep shot was called, then the drive would stall. Why do you need to shy away from something that is working? This offense showed that they can run the ball even with a stacked box.

And it isn't like teams were afraid of the deep passing game so a deep shot didn't dramatically change how they were playing defense against the Falcons.

That is just an example of the Falcons overcomplicating things. If you have the ground game rolling then there is no need to move away from it. You could say the same thing about the passing game if the Falcons were to dramatically improve there. All in all, just follow the proverb 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it."