The Atlanta Falcons gave their international fans a vintage performance in this tough overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The Falcons now stand at 3-6 with a less than 20% chance of making the playoffs.
Here are the Week 10 snap reactions.
The Falcons have a top-10 pass rush
The defense keeps stacking sacks — seven in this game — and everyone is getting in on the fun. Nate Ollie was touted in the offseason as a big addition, and I’d argue he’s the most impactful hire they made.
Not only has Ollie gotten instant results from his rookie edge rushes, but he’s also getting the most out of the veterans and the crop of young defenders who were going to waste. Leave it to the Falcons to be second in the league in sacks and not any closer to a winning season.
A step back for Michael Penix
It was not a good game for the young quarterback, especially in the second half. The pressure is getting to him and leading to a case of the jitters. Ball placement struggles continue. He had a nice throw to Drake London for a touchdown, but underthrew Kyle Pitts, who was going to walk into the endzone.
He earned his third intentional grounding penalty of the season, and he displays poor awareness too often. No, this isn’t the easiest situation (injured OL plus below-average OC and WRs) to deal with, but the quarterback did himself no favors with his own play today.
The Tyler Allgeier show
Allgeier is going to make some other team very happy next year. Today was his day; the power back punished the Colts defense all game and propelled the Falcons into overtime. Bijan Robinson is a stud, but Allgeier has played so consistently his entire Falcons career that some fans will always wonder what things would be like if the team had gone all in on him.
He’s been the perfect fit for the Falcons run scheme from day one. We’ll never know what that alternative reality will look like, so let’s keep enjoying him while he’s here.
Special teams is an albatross
When one part of the machine gets fixed, something else breaks down. It’s hard to keep your opponent from scoring when they seemingly get the ball at midfield every drive. Bradley Pinion has had some spectacular punts this season, and even in this game, but he’s also been good for one shank a game. There is hardly any juice from the returners, but the real crime is the coverage and blocking units.
It was great to see Zane Gonzalez make his kicks, but the missed field goals were only the tip of the iceberg with this group.
Quotes reveal culture
Kaden Elliss says that the defense “quit” on the 83-yard touchdown run by Johnathan Taylor. When asked about the Falcons 3rd-down troubles, Drake London said, “I just run the routes that I got.” The walls are crashing in, and Raheem Morris’ ship has sustained critical damage to the hull.
You can’t be a players coach with a toxic locker room. The Falcons were once again competitive against a formidable AFC opponent, and once again, they made sure to get in their way. Questionable time management, abandoning the run, not spying Daniel Jones on 3rd & 21; it feels like a handful of talented players are dragging this staff along.
The Falcons will have plenty of time to think about the loss and its impact on their season during their flight home. Atlanta is 3-6, and there is no miracle turnaround coming.
