New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons | NFL Week 4 and Week 17

The Falcons brought a new quarterback into the building when they added former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The NFL veteran played in 14 games in 2025, completing 260 of 384 passing attempts (67.7%) for 20 touchdowns to five interceptions.

Tagovailoa will compete for the starting quarterback job with returning quarterback Michael Penix Jr. who is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his 2025 season. Penix played in nine games and completed 166 of his 276 passing attempts (60.1%) for 1,982 yards to nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Falcons used their first selection in the 2026 NFL Draft to draft Avieon Terrell in the second round (48th overall). Avieon Terrell played for the Clemson Tigers where he started 12 games and recorded 46 tackles (4.5 for loss), a career-high 3.0 sacks, 11 pass breakups, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He was selected as AP Second-Team All American.

He now will get the chance to line up alongside older brother A.J. Terrell. The former Second-Team All-Pro defensive back has been a fixture for the Falcons for six seasons starting 93 games. Last season, he played in 15 games and recorded 68 tackles (49 solo), 12 pass deflections and two forced fumbles.

The Falcons made a change at head coach and brought in former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski who became the 20th head coach in franchise history. Stefanski lead the Browns to a 45-56 record over his six seasons at the helm. Stefanski earned NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2020 and 2023 after guiding the Browns to 11-5 and 11-6 records respectively.

At the coordinator spots, Stefanski brought Tommy Rees, the former offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2025, with him to Atlanta. He retained defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

The new staff will look to guide the Falcons back to the playoffs after the team has been absent from the postseason since 2017.