Another year, another Week 18 elimination for the Atlanta Falcons. Last year they were very frustrating to watch when Arthur Smith was the coach. This year was a mixed bag as there were some great moments, but some bad moments. When looking at the entire season as a whole there are three reasons why Atlanta did not make the playoffs.
The Falcons at one point were leading the NFC South with a 6-3 record. In the first half of the season, they looked good. Then came the 2nd half of the season and it was an absolute disaster. Doing the math, in their last 8 games of the season, the Atlanta Falcons lost 6 of them. That is not good at all and no matter how you start, all that matters is how you finish. Well, the Falcons did not finish strong at all. Maybe if they made that QB Switch sooner, the record would be better. Speaking of which…
Look I love Kirk Cousins and respect what he has done in the NFL, but it was clear halfway through the season that he was cooked. His athletic ability was gone and it was clear a change was needed. In the last 5 games that he played as a Falcon, he didn’t even throw a single touchdown. With how bad he was playing it just did not make sense that the Falcons kept starting him. Especially when this is the same franchise that used a Top 10 pick on QB Michael Penix Jr. Well, the Falcons finally did it in Week 16 against the New York Giants. Penix has potential, but the change was just too little too late for this team.
It’s clear too that Kirk Cousins is not going to return to the team next season. By the way, enjoy that dead cap hit when Cousins gets released. Remind me why the Falcons thought it was a good idea to tamper to get Cousins in the offseason again.
I wasn’t a fan of what Atlanta did this offseason and their pass rush was barely improved. The Falcons realized it last minute before the season and made a trade for Matthew Judon, which was a positive as he was the only pass rusher to get over 5 sacks. Besides that, their pass rush is a disaster and you can’t win games in the NFL without a consistently good pass rusher. The Falcons need to address the DE/EDGE position in free agency and it needs to be done immediately.
Coming out of the 2024 NFL Draft, I hated what the Falcons did. Especially choosing Michael Penix 8th Overall. I immediately graded that pick as a HACKENBERG (F Grade) Grade. Especially as I had him as a 2nd/3rd Round prospect and other analysts even graded him as a 4th round prospect. It seemed like a massive reach at the time and made the move of acquiring Kirk Cousins more confusing by the day. However, from the 3 games he has played, there is a ton of potential there.
In the three games he has played, Penix threw for 775 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. While the numbers aren’t the greatest he looked poised in the pocket, made solid decisions, and showcased his arm strength. There is a lot of potential with Penix and with him absolutely starting next season, he has an opportunity to be the franchise QB this team has been looking for since Matt Ryan.
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