2021 Atlanta Falcons season

2021 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerArthur Blank
Head coachArthur Smith
General managerTerry Fontenot
Home fieldMercedes-Benz Stadium
Results
Record7–10
Division place3rd NFC South
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersTE Kyle Pitts
LS Josh Harris
AP All-ProsCB A. J. Terrell (2nd team)
LS Josh Harris (2nd team)
Uniform

The 2021 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 56th season in the National Football League and their first under head coach Arthur Smith.

Draft

See the main article: 2021 NFL Draft
2021 Atlanta Falcons Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 4 Kyle Pitts TE Florida Highest selected tight end in NFL history
2 40 Richie Grant S UCF from Denver Broncos
3 68 Jalen Mayfield OG Michigan
4 108 Darren Hall CB San Diego State
114 Drew Dalman C Stanford from Denver Broncos
5 148 Ta'Quon Graham DE Texas
182 Adetokunbo Ogundeji DE Notre Dame
183 Avery Williams CB Boise State
6 187 Frank Darby WR Arizona State

Regular season

Schedule

The Falcons 2021 schedule was announced on May 12. They opened the season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 12 Philadelphia Eagles L 6–32 0–1 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
2 September 19 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 25–48 0–2 Raymond James Stadium Recap
3 September 26 at New York Giants W 17–14 1–2 MetLife Stadium Recap
4 October 3 Washington Football Team L 30–34 1–3 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
5 October 10 New York Jets W 27–20 2–3 United Kingdom Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (London) Recap
6 Bye
7 October 24 at Miami Dolphins W 30–28 3–3 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
8 October 31 Carolina Panthers L 13–19 3–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
9 November 7 at New Orleans Saints W 27–25 4–4 Caesars Superdome Recap
10 November 14 at Dallas Cowboys L 3–43 4–5 AT&T Stadium Recap
11 November 18 New England Patriots L 0–25 4–6 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
12 November 28 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–14 5–6 TIAA Bank Field Recap
13 December 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–30 5–7 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
14 December 12 at Carolina Panthers W 29–21 6–7 Bank of America Stadium Recap
15 December 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–31 6–8 Levi's Stadium Recap
16 December 26 Detroit Lions W 20–16 7–8 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
17 January 2 at Buffalo Bills L 15–29 7–9 Highmark Stadium Recap
18 January 9 New Orleans Saints L 20–30 7–10 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Division

NFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 4 0 .765 4–2 8–4 511 353 W3
New Orleans Saints 9 8 0 .529 4–2 7–5 364 335 W2
Atlanta Falcons 7 10 0 .412 2–4 4–8 313 459 L2
Carolina Panthers 5 12 0 .294 2–4 3–9 304 404 L7

Conference

NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division winners
1[a] Green Bay Packers North 13 4 0 .765 4–2 9–3 .479 .480 L1
2[a] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 13 4 0 .765 4–2 8–4 .467 .443 W3
3[b] Dallas Cowboys East 12 5 0 .706 6–0 10–2 .488 .431 W1
4[b] Los Angeles Rams West 12 5 0 .706 3–3 8–4 .483 .409 L1
Wild cards
5 Arizona Cardinals West 11 6 0 .647 4–2 7–5 .490 .492 L1
6 San Francisco 49ers West 10 7 0 .588 2–4 7–5 .500 .438 W2
7[c] Philadelphia Eagles East 9 8 0 .529 3–3 7–5 .469 .350 L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8[c] New Orleans Saints South 9 8 0 .529 4–2 7–5 .512 .516 W2
9 Minnesota Vikings North 8 9 0 .471 4–2 6–6 .507 .434 W1
10[d] Washington Football Team East 7 10 0 .412 2–4 6–6 .529 .420 W1
11[d][e] Seattle Seahawks West 7 10 0 .412 3–3 4–8 .519 .424 W2
12[d][e] Atlanta Falcons South 7 10 0 .412 2–4 4–8 .472 .315 L2
13 Chicago Bears North 6 11 0 .353 2–4 4–8 .524 .373 L1
14 Carolina Panthers South 5 12 0 .294 2–4 3–9 .509 .412 L7
15 New York Giants East 4 13 0 .235 1–5 3–9 .536 .485 L6
16 Detroit Lions North 3 13 1 .206 2–4 3–9 .528 .627 W1
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head sweep.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Seattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games.
  6. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.