2021 Atlanta Falcons season
56th season in franchise history
The 2021 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 56th season in the National Football League and their first under head coach Arthur Smith.
| 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 | |
 | |
Draft change
| 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 change
Schedule change
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 change
Division change
| 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 change
| # | 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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