After losing 15-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons went home with their hopes of avenging their Super Bowl postponed for now.
With how the Atlanta Falcons looked in their Wild Card Round win over the Los Angeles Rams, there were rightfully high hopes for this team as they moved forward. Not only did they look akin to the team that went to the Super Bowl a year ago, but faced a Philadelphia Eagles team in Round 2 playing without their star quarterback, Carson Wentz.
As has been said many times before, though, that’s why they play the games. The Eagles came out and played a dominant defensive football game, limiting Matt Ryan and the Falcons to just 10 points on the day. In the end, that was enough room for Nick Foles to skate past Atlanta and knock the Falcons out of the postseason.
Now out of the 2018 NFL Playoffs, it’s time to move forward in Atlanta. And here are five offseason moves the team needs to make to stay successful.
5. Find a new offensive coordinator
It is never easy for coordinator in their first year. It takes time to implement a new system and get players to fully understand and play within it. However, the Atlanta Falcons offense falling from one of the greatest statistical offenses ever in 2016 under Kyle Shanahan to ranked just 15th under Steve Sarkisian this season is a drop off significant enough that it will likely cost Sarkisian his job.
As the Falcons fell 15-10 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday, ending their season, it was hard to blame the lack of offensive contribution as the single biggest reason for the defeat. Any other team in the league might give Sarkisian one more season to grow with the team, but Shanahan proved the height that this offense can play at and the team will likely be unwilling to settle for a downgrade this significant, despite that fact that Shanahan’s shoes are likely impossible to fill either way.