2021 Atlanta Falcons season

The 2021 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 56th season in the National Football League, their fifth playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and their first under general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith.
For the first time since 2010 [Atlanta Falcons season|2010], wide receiver Julio Jones was not on the roster as he was traded to the Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans] on June 6, 2021. Jones departed Atlanta holding the most career receiving yards and receptions in Falcons franchise history.
Following their Week 12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars season|Jacksonville Jaguars], the Falcons improved their 4–12 season from the previous year. However, the Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth consecutive year following a Week 17 loss to the Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills].
It was also their final season with quarterback Matt Ryan, who had been with the team since 2008, as he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for the following season.

Draft

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 season\|Denver Broncos]
3	68	Jalen Mayfield	OG	Michigan
4	108	Darren Hall	CB	San Diego State
4	114	Drew Dalman	C	Stanford	from Denver Broncos
5	148	Ta'Quon Graham	DE	Texas
5	182	Adetokunbo Ogundeji	DE	Notre Dame
5	183	Avery Williams	CB	Boise State
6	187	Frank Darby	WR	Arizona State

Notes

The Falcons were awarded 3 compensatory picks in the 2021 NFL draft.
The Falcons traded their second-round and sixth-round picks to the Denver Broncos in exchange for their second-round and fourth-round selections.
All of the Falcons selections in this draft made the 53-man roster at the start of the regular season.

Regular season

Schedule

The Falcons' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12. They opened the season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Falcons start their season off with a 26-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Week 5: vs. New York Jets

'''NFL London games'''

Week 9: at New Orleans Saints

Younghoe Koo kicked a game-winning field goal as time ran out, improving Atlanta to 4–4.

Week 11: vs. New England Patriots

With the disastrous loss to New England, which was the 8th time the Falcons failed to beat the Patriots since 1998, the Falcons fell to 4-6 on the year.

Week 17: at Buffalo Bills

With the loss, Atlanta fell to 7-9, finishing 2-3 against the AFC, and they were eliminated from playoff contention for the 4th straight year.

Week 18: vs. New Orleans Saints

Coming off with a 2-point win in Week 9, they host the Saints. They were defeated by 10 points and finish their season with a 7-10 record.