This game looked awfully similar to last week against Philly in that the Falcons had an opportunity to pull out a last-second victory. Unlike last week, however, despite two opportunities to do so, Atlanta came up short and lost their second game of the season (and also their second game at home). There will certainly be second-guessing about coaching decisions and penalty calls in this game, but run-defense and pass-blocking deficiencies also loomed large in this loss.
Falcons Week 3 Review vs Chiefs
The Merry
Darnell Mooney
Through three games in 2024 Mooney‘s career has seen a resurgence. After injury-plagued, subpar seasons in 2022 and 2023, Mooney has clearly established himself as the Falcons’ #2 receiver. He has 12 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown thus far this season. his 14.1 ypc is a career high for him. His 18 targets are second on the team, behind only Drake London. Against Kansas City he caught all of the eight balls thrown his way for 66 yards.
The Safeties
Justin Simmons picked off Patrick Mahomes – again – and killed KC’s opening drive in the process. Jessie Bates punched out a ball meant for Travis Kelce on a key third down. Simmons would finish the game with five combined tackles, the interception, and a pass defensed, while Bates would have six combined tackles and that pass defensed. Simmons was the second-highest graded defender for Atlanta in this game per Pro Football Focus, with Bates was the sixth-highest. On the season, only Nate Landman, Richie Grant, JD Bertrand (all in limited snaps), and Mike Hughes grade higher than Simmons and Bates.
Mike Hughes
As mentioned above, Hughes is the highest-graded Falcon defensive player who has seen significant snaps, per PFF. He’s been a better run defender than coverage man, but has been solid in pass defense, actually grading higher than AJ Terrell in that regard. He had five total tackles and a pass breakup against the Chiefs. On the season he’s allowed five completions in eight attempts for 57 yards and a 83.9 passer rating against in 81 coverage snaps (per PFF). He has 18 combined tackles, two pass breakups, and three tackles for loss (per ESPN).
The Messy
The Run Defense
Atlanta’s “D” is getting by with a lot of bending-but-not-breaking so far this season, and it seems like a LOT of the bending comes against the run. After getting gashed for 186 yards at five yards a clip against the Eagles, the Chiefs would push the Falcons around for 128 yards at almost four yards a pop. On the season Atlanta ranks 27th in rushing yards allowed per game (though they are surprisingly ranked ninth in yards allowed per carry). More importantly, as will be addressed below, opponents are dominating the time-of-possession battle against Atlanta.
Pass Protection
Yes, starting O-linemen Kaleb McGary and Drew Dalman left the game with injuries, but Kirk Cousins was rarely comfortable in this game. He was only sacked twice, but he was pressured on ten other occasions, one of which created the interception he threw. For the second week in a row Chris Lindstrom, supposedly the best blocker the Falcons have, was atrocious in pass protection. Lindstrom was manhandled on the play that resulted in Cousins’ interception.
Third-Down Conversions, Fourth-Down Conversions, & Time of Possession
For the third week in a row, Atlanta was only 2 of 9 on third-down conversions. They were one of three on fourth-down conversion, with the two failures happening on the two attempts they had to win the game (naturally). For a team featuring Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier at running back and therefore supposedly good at running the ball, the Falcons are doing very poorly with time of possession, due in no small part to the issue of keeping drives alive. Out of 180 minutes of football thus far this season, Atlanta’s offense has had the ball a total of 73 minutes and 48 seconds (which means their defense has been on the field for 106 minutes and 12 seconds)! Against the Kansas City the ToP “score” was 34:57 to 25:03.
The Meh
Moral Victories
As Kirk Cousins said after the game, the Falcons “… snatched defeat from the jaws of victory” in this one, and in the end that’s all that matters. Holding the Chiefs’ vaunted offense to just 22 points doesn’t count. Shutting down Travis Kelce doesn’t count. Limiting Patrick Mahomes to 217 passing yards and 17 rushing yards doesn’t count. Having Mahomes call you a team that “will make a lot of noise” down the road doesn’t count. Saying, “Well, we would’ve won if not for that blown pass interference call against Pitts,” doesn’t count. Yes, it’s encouraging to be *that* close to knocking off the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champs, but in the NFL all that matters at the end of the day is did you add one to the “W” column or the “L” column?
Main Image: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
