Atlanta Falcons Optimism Faces First Test vs. Buccaneers in Week 1

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons have carried themselves with a certain bravado uncommon for a team that has fallen short of .500 for seven straight years. That’s what it takes to make a bold move to trade a future first to jump back into the first round in the draft or entrust a first-year starter at quarterback with a 13-year vet carrying a $40 million cap hit sitting on the bench.

Moxie and confidence. That’s the aura emitting from Flowery Branch ahead of a critical season for a coach entering his second season, and a general manager entering his fifth. Whether that feeling is justified will be determined on Sunday when the four-time defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to Atlanta. 

“We are going to let the grass speak for us and what we do,” Morris said this week. “It’s more about us going out and doing it instead of us standing up here telling you. I think our guys are ready to go do it.”

Sunday’s game will be the first real look at this team after Morris opted to rest his starters for preseason action. Of the players expected to be bigger contributors this season, the only notable participants were the five rookies, veterans competing for roles in the secondary, and the young defensive linemen. 

Naturally, there seems to be some eager anticipation for what Sunday will bring. 

“There’s a lot of juice and excitement for us to go out there and play as a unit for the first time and display what we’ve been working on throughout the spring and training camp,” safety Jessie Bates said. 

Despite the disappointing finish down the stretch last fall, there is plenty of reason to believe the bullish optimism is warranted, especially on offense. 

The group finished sixth in total yards and 12th in offensive EPA, despite a black hole of offense between Weeks 10 and 15. After Michael Penix took over, the team averaged 401 yards of offense and 32 points per game. 

Training camp has only added to the optimism for what this offense can be this season with the powerful arm of Penix, year two of Zac Robinson at offensive coordinator, and elite skill players scattered all over.  

“Win,” Drake London said about what he’s focused on in 2025. "I think I’ve told y’all this before, but I don’t like to share my personal goals, but my main goal is to win.”

The Falcons already believe, but national pundits like Dan Orlovsky have started to take notice of the potential the Falcons’ offense possesses coming into the season.

Defensively, though, there is still plenty to be left to the imagination. 

Four rookies will play prominent roles on this side of the ball for Atlanta, with two of them set to start in the secondary. The defensive line will lean on three players who combine for a single start, with two of them holding a combined 10 games of NFL appearances. In total, five new players will be starting on Sunday, with several more coming in as reinforcements.  

“It's exciting,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ublrich said. “It's exciting for them. It's exciting for the guys that are also going to play.”

This ‘rookie takeover’ was an intentional move by a staff actively looking to reset a reputation for lackluster performance. Just last season, this group finished 28th in DVOA, 23rd in scoring defense (24.9 points per game), and 20th in yards per play (5.5). 

After that, fresh faces may not be the worst thing. And those new players, along with the new defensive coordinator in Ulbrich, have brought a new edge. 

“We will dictate how this game goes,” Ulbrich said during the first weekend of camp, speaking about his goals for the season. “And to do that, there has to be, in my opinion, a little bit less of a read element, more of an ‘attack mentality.’ So, that's what we're ingraining in these guys.”

Franchise reputations are rarely changed with a single training camp, but cultures can certainly begin to shift. 

For a team with seven straight losing seasons behind them, swagger doesn’t count unless it shows up on Sundays. Against Tampa, the Falcons will find out if this bravado is real or just preseason noise.