Atlanta Falcons, Kirk Cousins, Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa
Getty
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins.
The Atlanta Falcons have been no strangers to losing seasons. It’s been since the 2017 season since the Dirty Birds have made the NFL playoffs, which is shocking in its own right, as the only NFL franchise with a longer such drought is the New York Jets.
However, with NFL free agency being so important, there is always a brief period of time for fans to just HOPE that the upcoming season might pan out differently from the last. Some of the biggest additions the Falcons brought on this week include Tua Tagovailoa, Austin Hooper, Olamide Zaccheus, and Jahan Dotson.
The Falcons have a good NFL roster, especially with the corps of skill position players like Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts. Adding Tua is a risk, there’s no questioning that, but in a recent predictions piece, FanSided’s Justin Carter believes it could be enough to propel the Falcons to the playoffs.
More NFL on Heavy: Falcons’ Second-Round Draft Pick Signs with Eagles on $7.3 Million Max Deal
Falcons Predicted to Make 2026 NFL Playoffs
Atlanta Falcons, Kirk Cousins, Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa
GettyMiami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins.
The 2026 NFL season is still several months away, but it’s never too early to make predictions.
In Carter’s prediction piece, the Falcons are named as one of six NFL teams that could return to the playoffs with their free agency adds:
“This kind of feels like the discount version of the Vikings. Minnesota has more overall talent than Atlanta, but the trio of Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson still ranks as one of the best collection of skill position players in the league. They just need a quarterback who can get them the ball. Tagovailoa has had plenty of injury concerns, but he’s also shown that he can take a strong supporting cast and win games with them. That’s all he has to do in Atlanta.”
Kirk Cousins has also officially been released, so there’s now an official QB competition in Atlanta.
More NFL on Heavy: Panthers Urged to Sign Former Falcons Punter to Fill Special Teams Void
Will the Falcons Make the Playoffs?
If you are a Falcons fan, you are sick of seeing this question is various areas of discourse, but being in the NFC South, anything is possible.’
Let’s not forget that the surging Falcons, if they hadn’t been eliminated before December, had been playing the best to end the 2025 season, when it looked like neither the Panthers nor the Buccaneers wanted to win the division for the last several weeks.
So the case for the Falcons might only continue to grow as the season looms, and with new leadership in the front office, Atlanta might be a sneaky threat for a strong 2026 season.
The other teams Carter names in his piece are the Vikings, Raiders, Chiefs, Colts, and Ravens.
Among those teams, the Falcons have the third-best (presumably) odds to break their eight-season drought of not making it to the NFL playoffs.
More NFL on Heavy: Buccaneers Send Emeka Egbuka Message After Viral Fake Tweet