The Atlanta Falconsgot buried in the mud by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A team hasn’t won a game without completing a pass since 1974; here are the Week 8 snap reactions.
Penix Melts in the Rain
It was a complete meltdown for the 3rd-year quarterback, who threw four interceptions on the day. We’ll talk about the staff’s role in this, but these interceptions were awful decisions and clear misses. You can’t reasonably explain any of them, just pure unfiltered poor quarterback play. Kyle Pitts was ready to snag his explosive
play of the day against Tampa Bay, and Penix missed him with no one around.
After playing one of the best games of his career, Penix’s homecoming was a major letdown. A tough day at the office, and while Penix has been playing well this season, no one’s future is guaranteed.
Run Game issues persist
Earlier in the week, I called out the Falcons poor running game, which was surprisingly met with some resistance, but this issue is now undeniable for Atlanta. The Falcons have more money tied up in their interior OL than most franchises and can hardly generate a push. Matthew Bergeron has not lived up to his extension; run blocking was never Neuzil’s strength, and Lindstrom can only do so much on his own. Without his 30-yard carry, Bijan was held to 2.6 yards per carry on 18 touches.
Weather can’t be an excuse given how well the Buccaneers ran the football, and excusing these performances cause they’re happening against good run defenses isn’t sound reasoning either. If you can’t perform against the best, then you aren’t as good as you think you are. Something has to change.
Poor weather highlights poor coaching
Did the Falcons coaching staff not read the weather report this week? Baker Mayfield attempted 3 passes and didn’t complete one of them. That’s the kind of game the Falcons needed to play, but they came out throwing in this monsoon. Rees’ stubbornness to do so proved to be the Falcons demise. Bijan has stalled, and Rees has no answers for this drought.
The Falcons screen game can’t get going, the passing game folds under pressure, and the defense was continuously let down. If you need everything to be perfect to succeed, then you won’t make it long in this league. When Rees’ offense has faced adversity this season, it folds like a washcloth.
Defense gets gashed
I won’t be too hard on the defense; it’s hard to build any momentum when your quarterback is giving the opposing offense endless opportunities, but the Buccaneers were able to win without completing a pass, something you’ll see maybe a handful of times in your existence. This attacking front has pinned its ears back in most games because the score was close, but Tampa Bay exposed that aggression and ripped off run after run in this mud bowl.
Harold Perkins Jr. has been sensational in coverage, but the defense couldn’t hide him in the run today, and he had a rough game. The defense still gave the offense a chance, but they didn’t get any help from that side of the ball.
It’ll take a while to wash this loss off. It’s easy to blame a performance like this on the weather, but the Falcons have too many red flags to ignore. The Falcons bungled their chance to take control of the division and are 3-5 at the season’s halfway point.
