Falcons' Playoff Drought Reaches 7 Years: Fans Have 'Right to be Impatient'

The Atlanta Falcons haven't made the playoffs or finished with a winning record since 2017.

The Atlanta Falcons believe quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is reason for optimism moving forward. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. remembers flying home after a come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 2. He remembers kicker Younghoe Koo's game winning field goal against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4.

Now, he'll be forced to remember a team that was once 6-3 but lost six of its final eight games en route to a disheartening 8-9 record, securing a seventh straight year with no winning record and no playoff appearance.

Penix only started the final three games, during which Atlanta went 1-2 with a pair of overtime defeats while its defense allowed 74 points. But the 24-year-old rookie already understands the talent the Falcons had, and the opportunity they let go by the wayside.

"Just seeing that, just knowing the guys we had around us, it's like we had the opportunity to beat everybody on our schedule," Penix said. "Obviously, it's the NFL. It's football. We're playing the best of the best, and things aren't always going to fall our way, but we've got to find ways to come out with those big time wins that really count.

"We'll do that. We'll do that in the future, and that's what I can't wait for."

Atlanta's season came to an unceremonious end Sunday, as it fell 44-38 in overtime to the Carolina Panthers (5-12) inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons needed to win and hope the Saints upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road to claim the NFC South title. Neither happened.

Penix scored three touchdowns -- two through the air, one on the ground -- and threw for a career-high 312 yards. Running back Bijan Robinson set career highs in carries (28) and rushing yards (170) while scoring a pair of touchdowns on the ground for the fifth time this season. Receiver Drake London caught 10 passes for a career-high 187 yards and two touchdowns.

Atlanta feels it has a bright future. Its fans -- after seven years with no postseason football and eight with no NFC South title -- are more than justified in feeling tired of the same old, same old.

The Falcons know it, too.

"I guess they kind of have a right to be a little impatient, man," defensive end Zach Harrison said postgame. "We got to win. But we got a good team, a lot of good players. We just got to find ways to get over that hump. That's going to be our focus.

"Everybody's going to attack the offseason, get back when we get back and try to get on the right track."

Atlanta's offense totaled 537 net yards Sunday, the most it's posted in regulation this season and the second-most overall behind an overtime victory against the Buccaneers in Week 5. The Falcons rushed for 227 yards, their first time eclipsing the 200-yard mark all year.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is optimistic about the future of his team, in large part due to Penix, but that doesn't necessarily wipe away his frustration after Atlanta won just three games once the calendar flipped to November.

"I feel really good about the people that's going to allow us to go out there and have success," Morris said. "I feel good about the additions we'll be able to make within the offseason to help us. I feel good about the things we can do moving forward.

"It's just that today is a really disappointing day for us to have to end it with that taste in your mouth."

But it's a taste Atlanta has grown accustomed to feeling far too often. The Falcons have only two winning seasons in their last 11 years, and general manager Terry Fontenot, who has a 29-39 record, has yet to reach the postseason in Atlanta.

As the Panthers marched down the field in overtime, several fans started heading toward the exits. Perhaps it was because they knew the outcome -- because they'd seen that movie plenty of times already, and Carolina validated those feelings with a 10-play, 70-yard drive to win the game and put the final nail in Atlanta's coffin.

The Falcons are now forced to look toward the future while 14 teams prepare for playoff appearances.

And Atlanta has to bank on next year being the year -- again.

"Obviously, the fans have had some frustrating years," left guard Matthew Bergeron said postgame. "But they've just got to understand we're doing our best, and we'll just keep working and we'll keep getting better. The young core of this team is excellent. There's no drama queen, there's no divas, like, we're just putting our head down and working.

"So, I think the future is bright. The hard work is going to pay off at some point. I'm grateful for every fan that came out and supported us."

Veteran receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III, who caught four passes for 66 yards to cap a breakout season, delivered a similar message.

"It's coming," McCloud said postgame about snapping the playoff drought. "And I think (fans) can see that. It's definitely coming. With Rah in the position where he is, it's going to be a fun ride."

At halftime of Atlanta's 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders on Dec. 29, Penix and London discussed the brief nature of the time they'd been together. Penix didn't get many snaps with the first-team offense while he was the backup to Kirk Cousins for the first 14 weeks, and therefore, he had little chemistry with his wideouts.

Penix and London entered Sunday with three full weeks of practice and two games together. They finished Sunday with one of the best quarterback-receiver production numbers the Falcons have seen in the 2020s.

Such storylines are why Atlanta believes in its future and in its young offensive playmakers, and there's a feeling inside the locker room that Sunday is merely a glimpse of what the Falcons' offense could do next fall.

"The fans got a little taste of what it could possibly be, and I think we're going to strive for that every game now," London said postgame. "Offseason, we’ve got to get after it and get right, because we want to get into the postseason and start playing for something real."

As players entered the locker room after Sunday's game, the Falcons had their "Thank You Fans" message on a television screen. The game had been over for all of five minutes.

But Atlanta could've recycled the same graphic from last year, or the year before, or the year before that -- and so on, dating back to the 2018 season.

The Falcons sold hope last summer. They validated that hope into November, holding a two-game lead in the NFC South. Then, it crumbled.

And now, Atlanta's back in an unenviable spot: trying to foster the belief of a fanbase desperate for success and tired of the same ending to different chapters.

"The message is continue to believe," Penix said. "I feel like we've got a lot of talent on this team, a lot of talent coming back. We're just going to continue to build off this year. I look forward to a lot of playoffs and even Super Bowls in the future here for this organization.

"So, tell the fans continue to believe. We're here, and we're going to be coming next year. We'll be ready."