The Story of the 2015 Atlanta Falcons

(photo credit: ajc.com)

The Atlana Falcons were looking to rebound after losing an NFC South battle against the Carolina Panthers at the end of the 2014 season. The Panthers went into Atlanta and dominated the Falcons to win the NFC South.

Last season, the Falcons got off to a very hot start, starting 5-0. They had come back from several double digit deficits against the Dallas Cowboys and dominated the Houston Texans, leading 41-0 at one point. After a 6-1 start, however, things went downhill.

The Falcons won just two of their final eight games and missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record. One big reason for the collapse was because the loss of their star running back Denvota Freeman. He scored seven touchdowns in the team's first four games. He missed some time with a concussion. He also only scored four touchdowns in the remaining games he played in.

Julio Jones didn't get enough targets, either. He scored four touchdowns in the first three games of the season, but then only had three touchdowns the rest of the way.

The Falcons had the biggest collapse of the 2015 season. To make matters worse, they released their franchise wide receiver in Roddy White. If the Falcons want to succeed in 2016, they have a lot of work to do.