2021 Atlanta Falcons season
| 2021 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Arthur Blank |
| Head coach | Arthur Smith |
| General manager | Terry Fontenot |
| Home field | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–10 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC South |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | TE Kyle Pitts LS Josh Harris |
| AP All-Pros | CB 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
| 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 | 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
| # | 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] | |||||||||||
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