The Falcons were built to perform on offense, but something is a little off

Things were going so well in practice that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. declared that they would be “unstoppable” and that the Falcons could field the top unit in the NFL.

After a 1-2 start, the Falcons rank 31st of 32 teams in points scored as they are set to face the Commanders (2-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Before this year’s NFL draft, the Falcons spent four consecutive top-10 picks on offensive players: tight end Kyle Pitts (fourth, 2021), wide receiver Drake London (eighth, 2022), running back Bijan Robinson (eighth, 2023) and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (eighth, 2024).

Just a few months before the Falcons drafted Penix, they signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year contract worth up to $180 million.

The Falcons have used $197 million of their $279.2 million (70%) in salary cap on offensive players and have scored only three touchdowns after three games. No receiver nor tight end has scored on a pass play, the Falcons have struggled in the red zone (28.57%, 30th) and the field-goal kicking has been shaky.

The offense was shut out by the Panthers and didn’t move past their 31-yard line.

With things off to a poor start, the Falcons have made some changes:

—Wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard was fired for “performance-based” issues, according to coach Raheem Morris.

—Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will move down to the sideline to call plays.

—Penix will remain the quarterback after getting benched in favor of Cousins on Sunday against the Panthers.

The Falcons are hoping the moves pay dividends for the floundering offense.

T.J. Yates, the pass-game coordinator, took over Hilliard’s duties.

Robinson is looking forward to calling plays from the sidelines. The Falcons have struggled with getting plays called in a timely manner and have had to burn timeouts on the opening drives of the past two games.

The organization and operational flow has been shaky at best.

“Better communication,” Morris said. “Going down there and being around Mike. You’ve got a young quarterback. That’s how we practice. That’s how we do our walk-throughs. That’s how we do everything. So that communication right here, with us being in the same area, same room, same spot has to get a little bit better and it needs to be a little bit more efficient, a little faster, you can see things a little bit better.”

The Falcons had discussed Robinson calling the plays from the sideline in training camp.

“Zac has been on the field his whole life,” Morris said. “Sees the game just as well on the field as he does in the box. Being comfortable ... microphones, all of those issues, some of those things you can avoid. You can do a bunch of different things on the grass.”

Robinson can talk directly to the players on the field.

“He provides a different type of energy when he’s out there talking to everybody,” Morris said. “The wideouts, the quarterback, our (offensive) line, our coaches are all involved on the headsets. But him being around everything should be good for all of us.”

Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud believes that Robinson calling plays on the field will help the offense.

“I think he’ll be more hands on,” McCloud said. “We’ll have more conversations in between series. So, I think for us, it’ll be a good deal because we actually have a relationship. It’s going to be good for everybody.”

McCloud is expecting the sidelines to hyped.

“It’s going to be a little more emotional than usual right now,” McCloud said. “You (don’t have to) go through the telephone or tell him this. So, it’s going to be cool.”

Robinson hopes to get better results from the sideline.

“Yeah, I think we talked about it even in training camp about possibly going down there,” Robinson said. “Always thought about it. I thought this was just a good time to kind of reset. We’ll put (offensive assistant) K.J. Black to go up to the booth. I’ll go down there.”

The Falcons are hoping to get the plays in quicker and not have to rush things as the play clock is winding down.

“I think just from a communication standpoint, it’s always good to see those guys’ eyes,” Robinson said. “Hear their response after the play, after the series, rather if it’s with offensive line, QBs or receivers. So, something I’ve always thought about. ... The headset last week went out on us a ton. I know the NFL is looking into those things, but some of those things with Mike’s headset going out at Carolina.”

Penix believes the offense will start to thrive.

“Just stay the course,” Penix said. “Don’t get discouraged. It’s never — like (anybody’s) perfect. We’re not always going to have the best game — we’re not always going to have the game that we wanted. Putting up zero points is tough.”

The Falcons had two missed field-goal attempts against the Panthers, but needed to finish drives with touchdowns. They had a miss that would have forced overtime in the opener against the Bucs.

“It’s tough sledding for the offense, and you know nobody likes that,” Penix said. “But at the end of the day, that’s week three. We got a whole season ahead of us, and we got to come ready to play this week and for the rest of the season. So that’s what our focus is right now.”

The Falcons have not thrown the ball down the field. They are last in the league in air yards. The Panthers jumped one of the check-down routes and got a pick-six. Last season, when Penix took over, he was driving the ball down the field.

“We’re just trying to figure it out,” Penix said. “Each and every day we’re getting better. You know, I feel like it’s always in the game plan. Whenever those opportunities are called, we got to take advantage of them.”

Some, mostly notable ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, have criticized the Falcons’ pistol formation.

“I just think that the way Atlanta uses it, (there’s) an overreliance on it,” Orlovsky said on “The Chris Thomas Tonight” show on 92.9 The Game on Thursday. “The benefits of the pistol, they don’t utilize (them) as well ... the quickness of it, lack of movement by the quarterback.”

Penix is fine with the offensive formation.