The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2026 Football Preview. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps, as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2026 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Atlanta Falcons performed from a penalty perspective in 2025 and where they can improve in 2026.
Atlanta Falcons 2026 Penalty Outlook: Discipline, Flags & Hidden Edges
The Good
- The Falcons recorded a net positive penalty average versus opponents in the second and fourth quarters of games.
- An NFL-leading 41% of beneficial automatic first downs via penalties generated by the Falcons offense in 2025 occurred in the fourth quarter of contests, significantly higher than the league average of 24.1% in this category.
- The Falcons were a top-10-ranked home team in generating offensive holding penalties on opponents at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Bad
- The offense accounted for 53.5% of the team's overall penalties. The league average was 47.7%.
- Pre-snap infractions accounted for an above-average 43% of Falcons penalties in 2025. In raw per-game numbers, Atlanta recorded about a 20% increase in pre-snap infractions year over year.
- The main driver of elevated pre-snap infractions came via false start and delay of game. Atlanta ended the season ranking in the top five in both categories.
- The offense recorded a net head-to-head deficit versus opponents in offensive penalty average per game in 2025.
- The Falcons averaged the third-highest penalty average in the first quarter of contests in 2025, ranking behind the Texans and Saints in this category.
Grade: B
Another disappointing season led to major offseason changes in Atlanta, with two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski taking charge.
Stefanski will be like a kid in a candy store with the offensive pieces at his disposal in Atlanta.
The Falcons boast premium talent at multiple positions, notably running back, receiver, and offensive line.
The big question heading into the season is who will start at quarterback for the Falcons?
While the scrutiny is not as intense in Atlanta as in other cities, ownership is banking on their moves paying immediate dividends, with the Falcons flying high again and making the postseason for the first time since 2017.
That can only occur by Stefanski cracking the code to this offense and unleashing its full potential, turning an underachieving Falcons franchise into a force, and capturing an NFC South division that is there for the taking.
This analysis continues in the 2026 Football Preview
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Warren Sharp’s 600+ page full-color PDF, the 2026 Football Preview, is unlike anything you have read. Stunning visualizations, including new heat maps and stat pages, are built with the reader in mind. Innovative, next-level thought processes abound in every team chapter and article.
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Warren Sharp's book shares insights into the players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal: to prepare you for the 2026 NFL season with the smartest information delivered in the fastest, most direct way possible for optimal reviewing and retention.
- Team Chapters previews are in-depth, data-driven & full of actionable info
- Fantasy Football player profiles, predictions, and ranks
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- Reasons to bet over/under win totals & analysis of futures betting market
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- Rankings for every positional unit on every team with analysis
- Penalty analysis for all 32 NFL teams
