The 2023 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 58th in the National Football League (NFL), their seventh playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, their third under general manager Terry Fontenot and third and final season under head coach Arthur Smith. The Falcons attempted to improve upon their 7–10 record from the previous two years and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Despite starting 2–0, the first time since 2017 they won a season opener and had a winning record at some point, their struggles caught up to them, as after being 1st place in the NFC South, the team finished 1–4 in their final five games. Atlanta matched their previous two outputs of seven wins with a victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16. However, they were eliminated from playoff contention when the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.
On January 8, 2024, the Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith, who finished his tenure in Atlanta with a 21–30 (.412) record.
Draft
+ 2023 Atlanta Falcons draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 8 Bijan Robinson RB Texas 2 38 Matthew Bergeron OT Syracuse From Raiders via Colts 44 Traded to the Indianapolis Colts 3 75 Zach Harrison DE Ohio State 4 110 Traded to the Indianapolis Colts From Titans 113 Clark Phillips III CB Utah 5 144 Traded to the Las Vegas Raiders 159 Traded to the Detroit Lions From Jaguars 6 186 Traded to the Tennessee Titans 7 224 DeMarcco Hellams S Alabama From Raiders 225 Jovaughn Gwyn G South Carolina 245 Traded to the New England Patriots From Bills
+ 2023 Atlanta Falcons undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Natrone Brooks CB Southern Miss Ikenna Enechukwu DE Rice Keilahn Harris WR Oklahoma Baptist Mike Jones Jr. LB LSU Xavier Malone WR Henderson State Justin Marshall Buffalo Carlos Washington Jr. RB Southeastern Louisiana
Draft trades
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Miami Dolphins W 19–3 1–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 2 Cincinnati Bengals T 13–13 1–0–1 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 3 Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–24 1–1–1 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 Carolina Panthers W 24–10 1–0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 2 September 17 Green Bay Packers W 25–24 2–0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 3 September 24 at Detroit Lions L 6–20 2–1 Ford Field Recap 4 October 1 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 7–23 2–2 Wembley Stadium Recap 5 October 8 Houston Texans W 21–19 3–2 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 6 October 15 Washington Commanders L 16–24 3–3 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 7 October 22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 16–13 4–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 8 October 29 at Tennessee Titans L 23–28 4–4 Nissan Stadium Recap 9 November 5 Minnesota Vikings L 28–31 4–5 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 10 November 12 at Arizona Cardinals L 23–25 4–6 State Farm Stadium Recap 11 Bye 12 November 26 New Orleans Saints W 24–15 5–6 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 13 December 3 at New York Jets W 13–8 6–6 MetLife Stadium Recap 14 December 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 25–29 6–7 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 15 December 17 at Carolina Panthers L 7–9 6–8 Bank of America Stadium Recap 16 December 24 Indianapolis Colts W 29–10 7–8 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 17 December 31 at Chicago Bears L 17–37 7–9 Soldier Field Recap 18 January 7 at New Orleans Saints L 17–48 7–10 Caesars Superdome Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 3: at Detroit Lions
Week 4: at Jacksonville Jaguars NFL London games
Week 5: vs. Houston Texans
Week 6: vs. Washington Commanders
Week 7: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 8: at Tennessee Titans
Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings The Falcons weren't able to hold off the Vikings, losing to them 31–28, allowing their rival Saints to defeat the Bears and take the number 1 spot in the NFC South.
Week 10: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 12: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 13: at New York Jets
Week 14: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 15: at Carolina Panthers
Week 16: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 17: at Chicago Bears
Week 18: at New Orleans Saints
Standings Division
Conference
Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Desmond Ridder 2,836 Passing touchdowns Desmond Ridder 12 Rushing yards Bijan Robinson 976 Rushing touchdowns Desmond Ridder 5 Receptions Drake London 69 Receiving yards Drake London 905 Receiving touchdowns Bijan Robinson 4 Points Younghoe Koo 123 Kickoff return yards Cordarrelle Patterson 153 Punt return yards Mike Hughes 67 Tackles Jessie Bates132 Sacks Calais CampbellBud Dupree 6.5 Forced fumbles Jessie Bates 3 Interceptions Jessie Bates 6 Pass deflections A. J. TerrellJessie Bates 10
NFL rankings CategoryTotal pointsPoints per gameNFL rank Offensive points scored 321 18.9 26th Defensive points allowed 373 21.9 17th
References
External links