The Atlanta Falcons had an average first-half of the 2017 season. Take a look at four important grades for their first eight games of the year.
After starting the 2017 regular season off with three straight wins over the Bears, Packers and Lions; the Atlanta Falcons have lost four of their last five football games, dropping them to a disappointing 4-4 record. However, with eight more games left this year, they still have an opportunity to turn things around and get back into the NFC Playoff race.
With that said, it’s still valuable to assess what went right and what went wrong over the first half of 2017. While I expected Atlanta to excel against the teams from the NFC North, I didn’t foresee them finishing with a 1-3 record against the AFC East. Needless to say, apparently playing the Jets, Dolphins and Bills every season isn’t as easy as we all thought.
All kidding aside, Atlanta has been beaten on both lines of scrimmage every weekend since September, which has come as a major surprise. If they can’t figure that out moving forward, the Falcons won’t be a team playing in January. Instead, they’ll be watching the Panthers and Saints play on national television. If that isn’t enough motivation to get better, I don’t know what is.
Without further ado, take a look at the Falcons grades through the first-half of 2017.