In Arthur Smith's first season in 2021, the Falcons win total was 7.5 and Smith basically met expectations by going 7-10. The following year, the Falcons had a win total of 4.5, and Smith drastically exceeded expectations by going 7-10. That success plus a favorable projected schedule had the Falcons' win total at 8.5, but Smith fell short of expectations by going 7-10. He was not given a fourth chance to go 7-10 and was dumped after the season in favor of former Falcons interim head coach Raheem Morris.

Much of the Falcons' struggles the last two years can be directly traced to the play of their quarterbacks, with Marcus Mariota underwhelming in 2022 but Desmond Ridder doing just enough at the end of that season to be named the starter in 2023, to similar results. Tired of that level of play, Atlanta went out and dropped $100 million guaranteed on former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who owns a 76-67-2 record with 270 passing touchdowns against just 110 interceptions and a 66.9 completion percentage, numbers that dwarf the production of the Falcons' quarterbacks the last two years. Of course, just eight of those games last season before Cousins suffered a torn Achilles that puts his effectiveness moving forward into question.

Perhaps that's why the Falcons backed up their nine-figure acquisition by using one of their next most valuable assets, the No. 8 overall pick in this year's draft, on another quarterback. Michael Penix Jr. becomes the long-term successor for Cousins while the paint is still drying on the latter's parking spot at the Falcons facility, and while you can understand that investment in resources in the quarterback position after what the franchise saw the last two years, it certainly makes upgrading the rest of the roster a missed opportunity.

Below, we'll go through the futures and win total markets for the 2024 Atlanta Falcons, sharing recently updated odds from major U.S. and Nevada sportsbooks as well as the SportsLine Projection Model forecast for each betting market. We'll then take a look through the schedule, share my power ratings line projections for every game and note any rest or travel advantages or disadvantages to remember. Then we'll examine the changes to the depth chart and what the effect of each could be, before wrapping up with our early forecast of what to expect from this team in 2024.

What are the key factors to consider before locking in Atlanta Falcons futures bets? And how does the SportsLine Projection Model see the season going? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Falcons betting strategy from the expert who's 636-534-34 on ATS picks from 2017-23, returning $4,899 to $100 players!