2021 Atlanta Falcons season

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
	← 2020; Falcons seasons; 2022 →;

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

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
4	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
view talk edit	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 v t e
#	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]
↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record. ↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record. ↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory. ↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head sweep. ↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Seattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games. ↑ 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.

[13-4-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record.

[12-5-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record.

[9-8-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.

[7-10a-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head sweep.

[7-10b-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.

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