When I say my hopes were high for a week one win over the Steelers, saying they were “through the roof” would be an understatement. Overall, it felt like the Falcons beat themselves before they could even take a shot at the Steelers. Most of those self-inflicted wounds came on the offensive side of a ball, arguably the most hyped-up piece of the Atlanta Falcons for the 2024 season. Atlanta will have a lot of rust to knock off this week of practices, but grab your favorite snack for now, as we have much to dig into.
Defense
Kicking things off with the defense, which didn't put up a terrible performance. In all, the defense didn't have an awful day; they allowed 270 total yards (137 rushing, 133 passing) and allowed 4.1 yards per play. They forced the Steelers to go 0-2 in the red zone and held the Steleres to 8-17 (47.1%) on third-down conversions. Most of the issues came from the secondary, which I’ll get to after this, but I enjoyed some of the results from the Falcons' pass rush.
Judon and Jarrett
It was great to see these two get involved in pressuring Justin Fields on Sunday. With both of them coming off season-ending injuries last year, it was encouraging to see them return to being the fierce competitors they are. There's been talk that this defense will run through the secondary, with Bates and Simmons at safety, but I wouldn't complain if Jarrett and Judon are the ones that opposing offenses have to account for in their game plans.
Both veteran pass rushers contributed to the two sacks Atlanta recorded on Sunday—Jarrett with 1.5 sacks and Judon with 0.5. The duo also combined for eight total tackles. Jarrett added three QB hits and two tackles for loss. He was in beast mode on Sunday despite playing only 68% of defensive snaps. Regarding Jarrett's QB hits, he is now the Falcons' all-time leader in that category. It's nice to see Grady achieve this milestone, especially after battling so much adversity throughout his career, particularly with the Falcons' defenses he's been a part of.
In my season preview and game preview, I mentioned that Judon and Jarrett can't be the only ones the Falcons rely on to pressure the QB. Unfortunately, only one other Falcon could record a QB hit—Eddie Goldman, who played just 31 snaps at nose tackle. James Smith-Williams managed a couple of tackles for loss but recorded no QB hits. David Onyemata, Lorenzo Carter, and Arnold Ebiketie could not generate any QB pressures or sacks despite Carter and Onyemata playing more than 50% of the defensive snaps. It will be crucial for the Falcons' depth on the defensive line to step up and apply pressure on the QB rather than relying solely on Jarrett and Judon to create havoc.
Deep Coverage Had Some Trouble
As I mentioned, the defense performed well but wasn't great either. George Pickens ended up with six catches for 85 yards. Pickens had two catches over 30 years; both Terrell had coverage responsibilities. Here's a look at Picken's route chart. Am I super concerned? No, it’s week one (you’ll hear me say this more than once), but Atlant’s deeper third coverage could be something to keep an eye on as the Falcons’ have to take on A.J. Brown next week.
Overall, I'm not disappointed by the Falcons' defensive performance in this one. There was a little trouble with the deep pass coverage, but with three all-pros in the secondary, I think that will get fixed very soon. Yes, Pittsburgh scored 18 points, but all were by field goal, and holding any team out of the endzone is something to be proud of. I’d like to see just a bit more pass rush, especially with the next two tests against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Offense
Cousins is not 100%
Alright, here we go, folks. I kept the defensive section a little short for this exact reason. Besides the first drive and Bijan Robinson, the offense didn't look good. After reviewing all the highlights, film, and stats, I've narrowed the Falcons' poor offensive performance down to two reasons. The first is Kirk Cousins's health.
Raheem Morris mentioned in both his post-game press conference and Monday’s conference that there's no doubt Cousins isn’t 100% healthy. Even if he is physically healthy, believing he's fully mentally prepared is hard. There were several throws where he wasn't entirely balanced on both feet, and he didn't move around the pocket much to avoid hits, which led to low velocity on his passes and poor accuracy. Now, I could be wrong, and it could just be rust, but you can't deny that something seems off after watching the clip below.
(Just one of the examples here, but pay attention to that back foot and where the ball ends up.)
Cousins has to be held to a high standard—not just because of his contract but also because of what this offense is capable of. Two of three turnovers came from the hand of Cousins, in which both drives could've turned into positive results, especially the second pick that occurred at 2:47 in the fourth quarter. We've seen for two consecutive years what poor quarterback play does to this offense, and it's unfair to the other contributing factors. At the end of the day, with all the different problems that have been (and will be) addressed in this article, many solutions will require patience. Hopefully, patience will be the remedy, and Cousins will improve over time. But for now, the veteran didn't perform well in Week 1.
Robinson Feeds Robinson, but at What Cost?
A positive for the Falcons' offense was that Bijan Robinson handled 23 of the 26 opportunities (handoffs and catches) out of the backfield, gaining 111 yards. This is something Falcons fans were eager to see all last year, and it’s a step in the right direction for Zac Robinson’s offense. However, there were some disappointing play calls and stats from Sunday’s performance.
One of the most disappointing aspects was that Drake London and Kyle Pitts combined for just five catches and 41 yards. While Pitts did score a touchdown—which was satisfying, as it quieted the fantasy football doubters—it's clear the ball needs to find its way into London’s and Pitts' hands more consistently. Ray-Ray McCloud was targeted seven times, which may prove that the depth at receiver isn’t as bad as it seemed, but London and Pitts need to be more involved.
(Hey, at least Kirk rolled out here)
The second disappointment lies in the formations and specific play calls. On Sunday, the Falcons ran out of the pistol or shotgun formation 96% of the time. They didn’t have a single designed run from the shotgun, yet they ran the ball 81% of the time when in the pistol. That’s a problem, when do we not run from shotgun or pass out of pistol? Personally, I love the pistol formation because it allows you to run more plays with the personnel you have. But why were only two plays called from under center (one of which was a hurry-up spike)? Is there an issue with Cousins dropping back? You handed the ball off 21 times, but didn’t fake it once, what are we doing here? Whether it's to avoid the pass rush or not, there’s no excuse for a run-heavy team to avoid play-action. Here’s a quote from Morris on the lack of play-action:
At the end of the day, it's only Week 1, and what can you expect when none of the Falcons' starters played in the preseason and only practiced against each other in a controlled environment? This team must be held to a high standard, especially with the Eagles and Chiefs coming up. There were flashes of how good this team can be, but you're doomed to lose with penalties in short-yardage situations and three turnovers. These are problems the Falcons can—and will have to—fix before Monday Night Football in Philadelphia next week.
Conrad's Three Stars (Heading 5 in Bold with standard Bold Text below)
1st Star – Grady Jarrett (3 Total Tackles, 1.5 Sacks, 2 TFLs)
2nd Star – Bijan Robinson (18 carries for 68 yards, 5 receptions for 43 yards)
3rd Star – Nate Landman (7 total tackles and a Troy Polamlu impression)
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