Slides should be fun, but there’s nothing fun about the Atlanta Falcons losing streak. The team lets a close contest slip away.
Here’s the Week 9 snap reactions.
Penix and London return
Penix looked healthy and boosted the offense
today. It wasn’t perfect; he’ll want that intentional grounding play back, but the quarterback showed some nimbleness in the pocket today and made the passing game functional.
Drake London appreciated that functionality and went off, putting up a hat trick and one of the best individual performances of his career. This duo looks like a legit pairing, but inconsistent offensive line play and coaching thwarted their efforts today and most of this season.
Jalon Walker’s breakout game
Jalon Walker was a force of nature today. Yes, he gave up two receptions and a touchdown (showing why he shouldn’t be moving backwards or playing ILB like some fans have begged), but the rookie nearly took over the game and helped keep his team in contention all afternoon. Walker had two sacks, two TFLs, and he continues to set the edge like a seasoned vet.
Nate Ollie deserves a lot of credit for the athlete’s development; Walker is becoming a better EDGE defender every week. Georgia fans should stop begging to move the player and enjoy the work he’s putting in.
OL is a mess
If you’re blaming the poor OL play on coaching, then it’s time to reevaluate that take. This group is bad, failing to execute the basics and make their reads, and “bad playcalling” has nothing to do with technique failures. If you think Dwyane Ledford, of all coaches, is failing to address technique or these mental errors in practice, think again.
The Falcons went cheap at center, and they are getting what they paid for. The rest of the line has been dealing with injuries and inconsistent play. Today, the team lost Bergeron early and Lindstrom late. Even if Norton returns, there’s a good chance we see Wilkinson kicked inside if these injuries bleed into next week. It’s a lot for an offense to have to overcome, and this staff didn’t need any extra work.
Defense is running on fumes
Young defensive lineman have stepped up and made splash plays, but this defense looks thin, and they are running out of answers to their problems. The Falcons finally installed their by-committee approach at linebacker, but unfortunately, it still left JD Bertrand on the field. The Patriots realized this on the final 3rd down of the game and went right after the LB.
The interior of this defense is a liability against the run and the pass, and Jeff Ulbrich’s beard is getting greyer every week. Getting Zach Harrison back would be a big boost, but these issues run deep; run defense and depth were the weaknesses of this defense coming into 2025, and those weaknesses are now front and center.
The men for the job?
This staff was supposed to realize the full potential of a roster that people believed was underachieving in a weak NFC South. The bar was playoffs their first year, but it’s been lowered every week of their employment. The roster is as thin as it has been every year of Terry Fontenot’s tenure, and the CEO, aka Raheem Morris, commits a management blunder in every game that makes fans question his competence. The team’s kicking issues were ignored until it was too late, and now they’re costing them points each week.
What this team advertises itself to be hasn’t lined up with reality for nearly a decade. The franchise’s decision makers have not lived in reality since the winter of 2017, and the fans are paying for it.
The Falcons losing streak continues after another game undone by mistakes on routine plays. Injuries are staking, and every mistake is magnified. This staff’s future looks bleak.
