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Biggest surprise: RB Cordarrelle Patterson

Why it's a surprise: Patterson has been a revelation in an otherwise struggling offense in Atlanta, as he is on pace for the best rushing season of his career (he already has 27 carries for 119 yards) and his best receiving season (already having 18 catches for 235 yards). Arthur Smith has been able to find a way to create opportunities for him, which led to him scoring three touchdowns against Washington -- as many receiving touchdowns as he had in the past four seasons. Patterson has been a pleasant surprise for Atlanta in every way. -- Michael Rothstein

The Falcons were all set up. They were in their building and in possession of a 30-22 lead over the Washington Football Team with less than 10 minutes to play. If they closed the game out, they'd head to London with the chance to move above .500 with a win over the rebuilding Jets. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the end was as grim as it gets: Atlanta's defense surrendered two touchdowns with the offense unable to answer back in a 34-30 loss. "We had multiple opportunities to win that game and we didn't," said Falcons coach Arthur Smith, who might age like a sitting U.S. president this season. "... We have to get a lot of things fixed in a hurry."

At 1-3, they head to London to play the Jets. The offense played well against Washington, but the defense let them down. It's been a tough start for first-year coach Arthur Smith.

They hadn't given up a TD on a kick or punt return in a decade -- no other NFL team could make that claim -- before Washington did Dirty Birds dirty Sunday in a four-point Atlanta loss.

In his ninth season, Cordarrelle Patterson has become the focal point of the Falcons' offense. His 354 yards from scrimmage put him on pace to set a career high by Week 8. It's a great story but also leaves Falcons fans wondering what happened to the promise of an offense built around Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts. After its collapse against Washington, Atlanta ranks 32nd in Football Outsiders' DVOA.