Even in lost seasons, you wait for the Falcons to make it official. Atlanta had shown enough life in the recent past to think they might have a surprise or two left in them at 3-6, and so while I counseled that you should leave your expectations behind for the rest of 2026, I did indulge in a little hope. No longer.
This season is over. The 3-7 Falcons, who can do nothing on offense despite the presence of a top ten selection at quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., maybe the best running back in football
in Bijan Robinson, a great receiver in Drake London, and a well-paid tight end room and offensive line, are cooked. Their defense is far more game and has the foundation of a really good unit, but as the afternoon wore on, they devolved into frustration and sloppiness. This is a team that is not ready to be great, and aside from a couple of beautiful weeks, they don’t even look ready to be competent.
We know how this goes. The coaching staff is not getting fired after one year, the front office is just beginning to piece this team together, and there’s still seven games to go. The Falcons must play out the string and try to figure out what they want to be, and it will be up to this still-fresh regime to make 2026 and the years preceding it a distant memory. We have put our hope in that outcome over and over again and have gotten nothing from it, so we are bucking history when we assume things will be different in 2027. What choice do we have, though?
For the moment, it is beyond clear that this team is going nowhere this season, and we are left to watch them play out the string. The bye week allows us to heal up a bit and try this thing again, but there is
Here’s a drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched. Please don’t read it.
1st Quarter
The Chiefs deferred and kicked off, with Khalil Herbert getting it to the 29 yard line. Michael Penix Jr. threw it too high for Drake London to come down with it on first down. Penix then tried Dotson and missed again. Penix then hit Kyle Pitts for eight yards. Jake Bailey’s punt rolled into the end zone for a touchback.
Emmett Johnson’s first carry went for a first down. Then a defender slipped working against Travis Kelce and he got a huge gain. Johnson then picked up six yards and then 12 more on the ground. Mahomes took a shot to the end zone intended for Cyrus Allen working against Billy Bowman Jr. but Bowman was right on him. Mahomes then scrambled and slid for nine yards. Johnson then plowed ahead for a first down. Johnson rolled through contact for four yards. Justin Fields tried a carry and was stopped by Cameron Thomas. A swing pass to Johnson went for a touchdown after multiple missed tackles. 7-0 Chiefs.
Herbert took it almost to the 50 yard line. Bijan took it nine yards on first down. Penix was then sacked on second down by George Karlaftis. On third down, Penix got away from pressure and had to throw it away. Punt, and after the Chiefs returner muffed it, Sydney Brown got him at the four yard line. 2
The Chiefs got out as Mahomes threw a short pass the receiver took for close to 20 yards. Mahomes then skipped it into the turf on the next play. On a delayed handoff, Johnson ran into his lineman and Dexter for a yard. A quick pass to Johnson went for seven yards on the screen. Punt, and Zaccheaus took it to about the 25 yard line.
Bijan lost a yard on first down. Then Penix missed on a deep ball and Jake Matthews got called for holding. A quick pass to Jahan Dotson went for seven yards. A false start on Jawaan Taylor followed. A swing pass to Khalil Herbert fell incomplete. Punt, and there was a Chiefs hold on the return.
Mahomes hit Josh Downs over the middle for a first down and 11 more. Rashee Rice then dropped a screen pass. A quick swing pass to Johnson went for three yards, with Harold Perkins Jr. on the tackle. Pressure got to Mahomes on the next play and he threw it up to Johnson, who dropped a difficult catch attempt. A hold on the play was declined. A false start on the punt attempt backed Kansas City up further. Punt.
A swing pass to Bijan lost two yards. A pass to London went for seven yards. Penix then fired one down the sideline to London and it was incomplete.
2nd Quarter
Punt, and a fair catch around the 10 yard line. Johnson carried it for five yards. Johnson was stopped cold by Perkins on second down. Mahomes missed on third down under pressure. Punt, and it wasn’t a great one.
Bijan rolled through the middle for 17 yards. Bijan tried to dance and got three yards. A bad exchange from a late Corey Levin snap resulted in Penix fumbling and falling on the ball for a four yard loss. With pressure coming in, Penix hit Dotson over the middle for a first down. Bijan was then hit early for a minimal gain, but a neutral zone infraction gave Atlanta five yards. Bijan then showed nice patience, stutter stepped, and picked up close to 15 yards again. Penix scrambled away from pressure for a few yards, but a holding call backed the Falcons up. Bijan tried to cut it back but the Chiefs smothered it for a minimal gain.A quick pass to Zaccheaus got seven or eight yards. Penix then tried to run away from pressure and was taken down. Jake Moody hit the 28 yard field goal try to make it 7-3 Chiefs.
Perkins drilled the return just past the 25 yard line. Johnson then went right and picked up a first down. Then Mahomes scrambled away from pressure and hit Rice for a first down. Johnson was tackled for a five yard loss by Zach Harrison and LaCale London. Xavier Worthy dove to try to make the catch and missed it. On third down, Mahomes tried to fake and scramble, but was hit after a gain of a few yards by Perkins and then a holding call on the Chiefs that the Falcons accepted. On third down and a mile, Mahomes did hit Rice for about 10 yards, but the Chiefs still had to punt, with Zaccheaus getting to about the 25.
Bijan picked up five yards on a plunge. Penix then threw it away on second down, for some reason. Then Penix hit Pitts on the sideline for maybe a yard. Punt.
Johnson took it two yards. Then a screen to Johnson went 39 yards after he picked up speed and nobody was near him. Mahomes then found Downs for a first down. Mahomes then threw it into the dirt looking toward Downs. Noah Gray then caught one for eight yards. The Chiefs then picked up a flag for 12 men on the field. Rice was tackled after getting within a couple of yards of a first down. Harrison Butker’s kick was good, but there was a flag on Atlanta, and the Chiefs decided to keep going for it. Mahomes then hit Downs for a touchdown. 14-3 Chiefs.
Penix fired one to London, who took a big hit and had it jarred loose. Penix then hit London down the sideline for 37 yards, but time expired as London rolled out of bounds.
3rd Quarter
A quick run up the middle went for a couple of yards for Emmett Johnson. Then Mahomes was sacked by like four dudes, with Brandon Dorlus getting there first. A screen to Kelce went for a few yards, but the Chiefs had to punt, with no return.
Bijan picked up 13 yards and a first down, following that up with seven yards. Jawaan Taylor then had a false start, and Bijan was stonewalled on second down. Penix’s pass was then batted down by Karlaftis. Punt.
Mahomes threw it away with pressure closing in on first down. Rice caught a screen and got about four yards. The blitz then got home and Mahomes had to throw it away. Zaccheaus took the punt return to the 33 yard line.
Penix finally hit London over the middle for a first down. Bijan plunged ahead for two yards, and then evaded two tackles for five yards. Bijan then went into the teeth of the defense and was tackled for a loss of a yard. On fourth and 4, the Falcons went for it and Penix threw it to Pitts under pressure, and Pitts wasn’t even looking up yet. Turnover on downs.
The Chiefs got five yards on Johnson’s carry, and then a yard. Mahomes then scrambled for a first down. Mahomes then found Cyrus Allen, who simply beat Terrell on a 39 yard touchdown grab. 21-3 Chiefs.
A quick carry, a swing pass to Bijan, and it was 3rd and 3. A false start on Jake Matthews backed them up five yards. Penix then fired one to London over the middle for close to 20 yards and a first down. Bijan was brought down after zero gain. London got eight yards on the next play. Penix then snuck for a first down. Jawaan Taylor was then called again for a false start. Then Penix threw it for about 10 yards and Jake Matthews got a holding call. Then Penix, on 3rd and 30, threw a quick pass to Herbert that went for two yards. Punt.
4th Quarter
Two straight Johnson carries went for a first down. Then Mahomes missed on a shot to the sideline. Then a deep shot to Rice went for a huge gain of about 50 yards. Dorlus then was called for roughing the passer on a short pass to Downs. A shovel pass to Allen went for five yards. Under significant pressure, Mahomes found Johnson for another touchdown. 28-3 Chiefs.
London reeled in the catch and took it past the 50. Penix then tried to throw a pick but failed. Then he bombed one down the sideline to Dotson, who reeled it in. Penix then hit Bijan over the middle for eight yards. Penix then fired one up to Chris Blair, but Blair couldn’t reel it in. A penalty screwed Atlanta, but it didn’t matter because Bijan powered it in for a touchdown to make it 28-10.
The Falcons tried an onside kick, and incredibly, Chris Blair grabbed it on one of the special teams plays of the year to give Atlanta the ball back. Penix tried London, and a pass interference gave the Falcons a huge chunk of yardage. Penix then scrambled for 15 yards or so. Penix tried Dotson in the end zone, but it narrowly fell incomplete. The next pass was a bit high to London, and he took a hit and couldn’t reel it in. On third down, a quick pass to Bijan was brought down after a minimal gain. Moody then drilled the 38 yard field goal to make it 28-13 Chiefs.
Emmett Johnson got a first down, and then Mahomes threw it into the dirt under pressure. Johnson then picked up nine yards. Mahomes then got away from pressure and flinged it 45 yards to Andrew Armstrong for a touchdown. Credit where it’s due: Chris Blair with a fantastic recovery on the onside kick and it’s Atlanta’s ball 35-13 Chiefs.
Penix hit Pitts for a first down, but Pitts fumbled and the Chiefs recovered.
Carter went for five yards. Then he went for two more yards, and Mahomes missed deep. Then Mahomes threw it in the ground on fourth down.
A quick pass to Herbert got a chunk of yardage, and then Penix ran for a first down. Penix then threw it downfield to Pitts for a big gain. Then Penix tried Beaux Collins in the end zone, but it was short. Then Penix overthrew Collins in the end zone. Under pressure, Penix threw it in the dirt in the direction of a receiver. And then Penix was picked off in the end zone on fourth down.
Everything that happened after that did not matter. You could argue that everything that happened before it didn’t, either.
