Atlanta has been on the wrong foot in this head to head history.
The Falcons go on the road to face an old foe, one which has had a history of brutalizing them in their early history and has sort of gotten back to those old ways in recent memory in the Washington Commanders. Washington currently owns an 18-10-1 lead in the head to head series.
The at-one-point Redskins made it a sport to completely wail on the Falcons before the turn of the millennia. They set the tone early by winning five and tying once in the first six ever meetings, through 1977, before Steve Bartkowski finally helped Atlanta break through with a victory in 1978.
Overall, Washington won 14 matchups to Atlanta’s three through 1993, including a 24-7 victory in the 1991 Divisional Round of the playoffs (the only head to head playoff matchup between these two teams). Washington and their famous “hogs” went on to win the Super Bowl that year, their third under the leadership of the legendary Joe Gibbs.
Atlanta finally found some success in the Matt Ryan era, beating Washington six straight times between 2006-2018 (five of those wins came with Ryan under center), with one of those wins coming in 2015 when Robert Alford secured a pick 6 against Kirk Cousins in overtime to carry the Falcons to a 5-0 start to that season.
We’ve gotten back to some times of old of late, with the Washington Football Team turned Commanders winning the last three games in a row, however.
Last Meeting
The Falcons were riding a high going into Week 6 against the Commanders last season, having just beaten the Houston Texans behind Desmond Ridder’s best ever game as a pro.
Ridder picked up right where he left off from, leading an 11-play drive and capping it off with a score to Kyle Pitts on Atlanta’s first offensive possession as some thought that he may have finally started figuring things out in the NFL.
Those thoughts would prove to be short lived, as Atlanta’s offense began to sputter and suddenly had to play from behind as Washington’s Sam Howell connected on three touchdown passes in quick succession to help the team go into the fourth quarter with a 24-10 lead.
The Falcons pulled one touchdown back and had their opportunities as the defense forced three fourth punts, but two Ridder fourth quarter interceptions (including an egregious one in the end zone) gave Atlanta a very bitter defeat.