The Atlanta Falcons’ season has been disappointing, to say the least. They’re currently 4-9, third in the NFC South behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers. The Falcons’ issues and lackluster performance stem from injuries across the board, special teams struggles, kicking woes, losing close games, and — a big topic — third-down inefficiency.

Falcons’ Third-Down Struggles

The Falcons’ offense hasn’t done well on third down this season. Their failure to convert consistently has stalled drives and even contributed to losses. Right now, Atlanta is ranked 31st in the NFL in third-down conversion rate, at 31%.

One of the most notable third-down blunders came against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10, when they lost 31-25 in overtime. Atlanta went 0-for-8 on third down as the offense repeatedly failed to convert, though they managed to keep themselves in the game, with running back Tyler Allgeier scoring two rushing touchdowns.

More recently, the Falcons went 1-for-13 on third down against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 at home. They lost the game 37-9, but in the first half, they held the Seahawks to only six points. Meanwhile, the Falcons also had just six points and did not score a touchdown that counted — wide receiver Darnell Mooney caught a touchdown but did not re-establish himself in bounds, according to the referees.

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson spoke about the third-down struggles, saying (per Terrin Waack of the official team site):

“That’s the most disappointing part of our offense, is the third down. We started off the season kind of not playing that well in the red zone; we were playing well on third down. Then, obviously, it just has not gone well in terms of third down. … It’s very frustrating.”
He also addressed protection from the offensive line on third down, stating:
“Number of things that go into it. First and foremost is always going to be the protection on third down. You got to make sure that you have sound protection. You got to make sure that we’re IDing things properly, we’re getting to the right people. I think we can be a lot cleaner in that area, just from an upfront standpoint.

“Then, a lot of it is just execution of the call based on the coverage. There’s a number of different coverages that you see, so you got to have sound answers. I think we’ve had opportunities to execute. There’s certainly times throughout the game where I say, ‘I mean, that wasn’t a great play call there. So, it’s always going to be a combination of everything. But there’s typically answers out there. You got to find them.”

With only four games left, Atlanta will be looking to fix its third-down issues as it faces its division rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Thursday.