The Falcons won only four games. Mired in a hellish season caused by injuries, wildly disappointing performances from key additions and steady veterans, and hilariously bad coaching decisions, they went into the offseason with pressure on the coaching staff and a promise to upgrade both lines, which had struggled mightily.
This was post-2013, but if that seemed eerily applicable to this year...well, that’s the frightening thing. Mike Smith’s Falcons went from the NFC Conference Championship Game in 2012 to downright awful in 2013, with a raft of poor decisions that saw them get rid of veteran contributors, lose Julio Jones to injury and others to injury, and struggle.