The Falcoholic
Week 3 of the 2025 season felt like rock bottom. This is a franchise which is in the midst of a seven year playoff drought — the join-second longest such in the league — which has not experienced a winning season since 2017, and which currently has very questionable leadership at the helm.
The fiasco witnessed against the Carolina Panthers felt like a bottom falling out from underneath the Atlanta Falcons, not just in 2025, but almost as a franchise as a whole. For those who were lucky enough to not watch, Atlanta was shutout 30-0 against a Panthers team they were favored to beat, things have felt like they have spiraled since.
Now, Atlanta sets its sights onto the Washington Commanders, who are dealing with some injuries but are nonetheless reigning NFC Championship participants and off to a 2-1 record this year.
Here is the scenario the Falcons face if they beat the Washington Commanders in Week 4, as well as if they lose.
The sky won’t be falling as much as it has been this past week. From a psychological standpoint, they will have been able to move past the Panthers debacle. From a standings perspective, however, the damage has been done with two consecutive divisional losses to start the season.
Atlanta desperately needs some positive vibes heading into the bye week and a win over a good NFC opponent will give exactly that. Having a chance to regroup after a 2-2 start to the season isn’t the dismal scenario it could be otherwise and the season can absolutely be turned around rather quickly.
They will also break a four game losing streak to the Commanders, dating back to 2021. Washington has actually beaten Atlanta in every year of this decade, which is the longest such streak they have enjoyed head to head over the Birds since the 1990s.
It will conclude a nightmarish first month of the season and this ship may prove to be sinking fast. There must be a lot of pressure in the building right now to attain some immediate success and the scrutiny from both the media and fanbase alike feels palpable. Another defeat will just add to all of that.
Not only will the vibes be horrendous going into the early bye week (which feels like a blessing at this point), but the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are the teams waiting for Atlanta on the other side of that bye. Both team will be heavy favorites in those matchups and a potential 1-5 record will not only not be farfetched, but it would be expected at that point.
The defeats will have begun to stack up, and the questions being asked of every facet of the team and coaching staff are getting louder and more prevalent. We may well be on our way to the Falcons getting buried before the leaves even start changing color in Atlanta.
