<img alt="Pittsburgh Steelers v Atlanta Falcons" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hgFSygFKYRXl58HhQbvNcY6DbK8=/0x0:4687x3125/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73577486/2170846571.0.jpg">
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
A sour day from the offense results in a Week 1 loss. Well, the Falcons are 0-1 and heading to Philadelphia for a primetime tilt. Atlanta was undone by a frustrating offensive gameplan and sketchy quarterback play, and will be in for another rough week if those issues continue on the road.
Read on for Falcoholinks from the Falcons’ 18-10 loss to the Steelers in Week 1.
Hat tips
Pitts finds the end zone
It’s a big year for tight end Kyle Pitts, and notching a touchdown in the opener is definitely a great way to start. Kirk Cousins found Pitts in the back of the end zone for six right before halftime, a play where he somehow was not within ten yards of the nearest defender. If Atlanta’s offense is going to succeed, Pitts needs to be a focal point in scoring situations. Good to see that connection develop early — let’s hope it continues.
Fourth down stop
Had the Falcons come away with the win, their fourth-down stop on their own six-yard-line would have been the play of the game. With the Steelers looking to plunge the dagger midway through the fourth quarter, the Falcons mustered up a key stop on 4th-and-1 that kept them in the football game.
The defense deserves plaudits all around, but that stop should have been a game changer.
Head-scratchers
The Kirko Show
Quarterback Kirk Cousins’ poor performance in his Atlanta debut set off alarm bells. Cousins, recipient of a lucrative contract in the offseason, looked visibly uncomfortable operating in the offense — and the gameplan certainly didn’t help. As ESPN’s Field Yates noted, the Falcons ran 96% of their snaps out of shotgun or pistol, and had zero designed runs on the 22 shotgun snaps.
Interesting note from @ESPNStatsInfo: The Falcons were in pistol or shotgun on 96% of their snaps today. Of the 22 snaps out of shotgun, the Falcons had 0 designed runs.Of the 26 snaps out of pistol, the Falcons ran the ball on 81% of their plays.— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 9, 2024
This is alarming for a couple of reasons. First: Cousins excels when he’s able to move around in the pocket, so he was put into a position where he wouldn’t necessarily excel. Secondly: It reinforces the whispers that Cousins is not fully healthy a year removed from tearing his Achilles tendon. Were the Falcons attempting to protect Cousins by virtually allowing him to grow roots in the pocket? Are they simply trying to slowly work him up to speed?
We’ll possibly receive answers to those questions, but the fact remains: Cousins’ made poor decisions downfield, did not appear to get much on the football when he did, and was basically bait for the Pittsburgh defense if they were able to generate pressure (which was often).
The two interceptions were the story of the game, but the larger looming question is if the Falcons are diving headlong into yet another quarterback controversy.
The Dwelley-Cousins exchange
It was Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, so we were likely to receive one Falcony lowlight. The botched snap in the third-quarter fit the bill. With the Falcons trailing and across midfield, quarterback Kirk Cousins called for tight end Ross Dwelley to motion across the line. Late on the call, Dwelley then began his motion (as Cousins emphatically gave him the stop sign) just as center Drew Dalman snapped the football. The snap caromed off of Dwelley and into the hands Steelers lineman T.J. Watt.
The game felt like it changed after that play.
Kaleb McGary’s rough afternoon
Right tackle Kaleb McGary was abused by T.J. Watt all afternoon — full stop. Not clear why Atlanta did not bring in tight end Charlie Woerner to assist, but it was apparent early on that McGary was going to struggle.
Watt was consistently in the backfield, and save for the overturned strip sack, he would have had a more eye-popping stat line.
<img alt="Pittsburgh Steelers v Atlanta Falcons" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hgFSygFKYRXl58HhQbvNcY6DbK8=/0x0:4687x3125/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73577486/2170846571.0.jpg">
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
A sour day from the offense results in a Week 1 loss. Well, the Falcons are 0-1 and heading to Philadelphia for a primetime tilt. Atlanta was undone by a frustrating offensive gameplan and sketchy quarterback play, and will be in for another rough week if those issues continue on the road.
Read on for Falcoholinks from the Falcons’ 18-10 loss to the Steelers in Week 1.
Hat tips
Pitts finds the end zone
It’s a big year for tight end Kyle Pitts, and notching a touchdown in the opener is definitely a great way to start. Kirk Cousins found Pitts in the back of the end zone for six right before halftime, a play where he somehow was not within ten yards of the nearest defender. If Atlanta’s offense is going to succeed, Pitts needs to be a focal point in scoring situations. Good to see that connection develop early — let’s hope it continues.
Fourth down stop
Had the Falcons come away with the win, their fourth-down stop on their own six-yard-line would have been the play of the game. With the Steelers looking to plunge the dagger midway through the fourth quarter, the Falcons mustered up a key stop on 4th-and-1 that kept them in the football game.
The defense deserves plaudits all around, but that stop should have been a game changer.
Head-scratchers
The Kirko Show
Quarterback Kirk Cousins’ poor performance in his Atlanta debut set off alarm bells. Cousins, recipient of a lucrative contract in the offseason, looked visibly uncomfortable operating in the offense — and the gameplan certainly didn’t help. As ESPN’s Field Yates noted, the Falcons ran 96% of their snaps out of shotgun or pistol, and had zero designed runs on the 22 shotgun snaps.
Interesting note from @ESPNStatsInfo: The Falcons were in pistol or shotgun on 96% of their snaps today. Of the 22 snaps out of shotgun, the Falcons had 0 designed runs.Of the 26 snaps out of pistol, the Falcons ran the ball on 81% of their plays.— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 9, 2024
This is alarming for a couple of reasons. First: Cousins excels when he’s able to move around in the pocket, so he was put into a position where he wouldn’t necessarily excel. Secondly: It reinforces the whispers that Cousins is not fully healthy a year removed from tearing his Achilles tendon. Were the Falcons attempting to protect Cousins by virtually allowing him to grow roots in the pocket? Are they simply trying to slowly work him up to speed?
We’ll possibly receive answers to those questions, but the fact remains: Cousins’ made poor decisions downfield, did not appear to get much on the football when he did, and was basically bait for the Pittsburgh defense if they were able to generate pressure (which was often).
The two interceptions were the story of the game, but the larger looming question is if the Falcons are diving headlong into yet another quarterback controversy.
The Dwelley-Cousins exchange
It was Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, so we were likely to receive one Falcony lowlight. The botched snap in the third-quarter fit the bill. With the Falcons trailing and across midfield, quarterback Kirk Cousins called for tight end Ross Dwelley to motion across the line. Late on the call, Dwelley then began his motion (as Cousins emphatically gave him the stop sign) just as center Drew Dalman snapped the football. The snap caromed off of Dwelley and into the hands Steelers lineman T.J. Watt.
The game felt like it changed after that play.
Kaleb McGary’s rough afternoon
Right tackle Kaleb McGary was abused by T.J. Watt all afternoon — full stop. Not clear why Atlanta did not bring in tight end Charlie Woerner to assist, but it was apparent early on that McGary was going to struggle.
Watt was consistently in the backfield, and save for the overturned strip sack, he would have had a more eye-popping stat line.
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