This is a Falcons team that isn't short on big moments, regardless of the outcome of a game Brett Davis-Imagn Images

ESPN is Excited for What Atlanta Falcons Bring to 2025 Season

Originally posted on Atlanta Falcons on SI
By Arkesh Ray | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 1:30 PM ET

Ben Solak, an NFL analyst on ESPN, ranked all 32 NFL teams in terms of watchability heading into the 2025 NFL season. The Atlanta Falcons fell just shy of the top five, coming in at No. 6 on Solak’s list. He made sure to emphasize that there is a stark difference in “watchability” and how good a team is.

There were four factors that he used to determine watchability: big plays, close games, star players and a final objective factor, “cool stuff.” Solak describes cool stuff as fancy football schemes that are fun to watch, such as “Mike McDaniel’s goofy backfield shenanigans.”

The analyst points to Atlanta’s September 2024 run to explain why it will be a fun watch again this season.

In Week 2, the Falcons beat the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road, off a game-winning touchdown drive, and then star safety Jessie Bates secured the win by picking off Jalen Hurts.

The following week, the Falcons took on the back-to-back world champion Kansas City Chiefs and nearly beat them, coming up one yard short on a 4th down and short with less than a minute to play.

In Week 4, kicker Younghoe Koo hit a career-high 58-yard field goal to walk off Atlanta’s biggest rivals, the New Orleans Saints, after surrendering the lead with less than a minute to go.

Atlanta’s Week 5 showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one of the best games of the season. A 36-30 overtime victory in which Falcons wide receiver KhaDeral Hodge had a 45-yard walk-off touchdown, and the game was a back-and-forth affair the whole way through.

Cousins threw for 509 yards in the game, the first quarterback to throw for 500 or more yards in a game since Joe Burrow in 2021.

“That was just a month! Now, Michael Penix Jr. is the starting quarterback; he was second in the league in air yards per attempt last year (10.1). The defense is relying on huge returns from first-round rookies to generate any sort of a pass rush. It's hard to think of a team with a higher ceiling and lower floor,” Solak said.

Solak did not even mention the numbers put up with Michael Penix Jr at the helm. The offense averaged 32 points per game and never scored less than 24 points in a game. Wide receiver Drake London put up 352 yards in three games.

So, maybe there could be more that the Falcons could add to their watchability once the season starts.