Week 6 Result: Won at Carolina 38-20

The Atlanta Falcons came into the 2024 season with more than a little hype after the arrival of quarterback Kirk Cousins. After a bumpy start, the Falcons are starting to live up to that hype—Sunday’s decisive win in Carolina was Atlanta’s third straight and fourth game in the last five.

Beating an overmatched Panthers team isn’t exactly a Herculean feat, but the Falcons took care of business. Cousins was efficient through the air. The Atlanta rushing attack averaged over five yards a carry and flirted with 200 yards.

While speaking to reporters, running back Bijan Robinson said the team’s offensive balance makes them tough to defend.

“That’s where you want to go with the offense, where those guys don’t know if they have to stop the run or the pass,” Robinson said. “And then you’re able to do both, it’s just really hard for a defense because then they’re like, ‘OK, what do we do?'”

Head coach Raheem Morris also talked up the team’s ability to beat defenses in different ways.

“Last week we threw it 58 times and threw it for 509 yards, and this week were able to were able to run for (198) and that is the sign of a good football team when you have to find ways to beat them,” Morris said. “We are taking what you’re giving us and going out there and dealing.”

The Falcons just beat a Panthers team that has won three games since the start of the 2023 season. I’m not going to put a ton of stock into Atlanta’s move to 4-2. What I did find impressive in Week 6 was the continued growth of Atlanta’s offense.

This was a team that had the league’s 11th-ranked overall defense in 2023 but was too often held back by poor quarterback play and a lack of offensive cohesion. Kirk Cousins has provided a significant upgrade under center, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has figured out how to unleash playmakers like Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson.

So far, Atlanta’s plan for a quick turnaround in 2024 is working as scripted. The Buccaneers may prevent the Falcons from winning their first division title since 2016, but the playoffs feel practically inevitable at this point. — Knox