Hail, traveler! Snap counts, hot and fresh and maybe a little maddening, await you here.
Offense
Michael Penix Jr.: 56
Jake Matthews: 56
Ryan Neuzil: 56
Elijah Wilkinson: 56
Darnell Mooney: 56
Drake London: 55
Bijan
Robinson: 54
Kyle Hinton: 53
Kyle Pitts: 53
Chris Lindstrom: 50
David Sills: 38
Tyler Allgeier: 17
Jovaughn Gwyn: 6
Charlie Woerner: 5
Matthew Bergeron: 3
KhaDarel Hodge: 1
Dylan Drummond: 1
It appears Zac Robinson’s concession to the “Charlie Woerner’s motion tells the defense when the Falcons are running” accusations has simply been to not play Woerner. I don’t think the tight end has had the caliber of year he enjoyed in 2024, but nor do I think the ground game or passing game is better off with Sills out there instead of him. In fact, the obsession with Sills, a player who has three catches on six targets on over 150 snaps this year and has been an inconsistent blocking option, is yet another mystery associated with a Falcons offense that is chock full of them. The Falcons would likely be better off trying to run and no worse trying to pass if the bulk of Sills snaps were replaced by Woerner, Feleipe Franks, or even KhaDarel Hodge.
Injuries hit the line again on Sunday, too. Bergeron left early and was replaced by Hinton, who to his eternal credit allowed just one pressure on a day when Lindstrom (5), Wilkinson (5), Neuzil (2), and Matthews (2) all had really tough moments. Gwyn, who has barely played since arriving in Atlanta as a late pick a few years back, had to fill in late for Lindstrom and was decent in that very small sample size. The hope is that Storm Norton’s return will stabilize right tackle a bit, but having to go without one or both starting guards going forward is probably not going to go this smoothly most weeks.
Mooney is just getting good cardio out there. He has just 27 targets through eight games, or a little over three per game, and just 12 catches to show for it. Penix looked his way just twice against the Patriots, and a Falcons receiving corps that was a real strength a year ago is now just Drake London. That’s an underrated reason this passing game has been struggling, but surely Mooney’s going to get going at some point?
Defense
Kaden Elliss: 68
Jessie Bates: 68
A.J. Terrell: 68
Mike Hughes: 68
David Onyemata: 47
Jalon Walker: 44
Ronnie Harrison: 41
Ruke Orhorhoro: 38
Brandon Dorlus: 37
Arnold Ebiketie: 34
James Pearce Jr.: 33
Dee Alford: 31
JD Bertrand: 30
Sam Roberts: 29
LaCale London: 28
Leonard Floyd: 16
The rotation up front is finally good enough and deep enough to weather attrition. While the run defense remains a bit frustrating because of a group that’s equal parts undersized and not fantastic against opposing ground games, the pass rush cooks for long stretches on their best days. That was even more impressive Sunday against a good Patriots line and with a Falcons group down Zach Harrison and, past a certain point early in the game, Leonard Floyd. I thought LaCale London, Brandon Dorlus, Jalon Walker, and Ruke Orhorhoro were particularly impressive Sunday, but the good thing about rotating guys heavily and keeping them fresh is that multiple players have a chance to step up and often do.
The other major rotation news, of course, was at inside linebacker. The Falcons threw in the towel one week too late on the JD Bertrand-as-a-full-time-starter experiment, with Ronnie Harrison getting the lion’s share of snaps on Sunday. Neither player was terrific—Harrison allowed 3/5 passes against him to be completed for 23 yards and missed a tackle, Bertrand allowed 3/4 for 40 yards (the second-highest total on the team) and was customarily a step behind most plays he was involved in—but they were a bit better as a mix-and-match duo than Bertrand was as a full-timer. I still think the Falcons need to consider getting them off the field more frequently in favor of DeMarcco Hellams and Jordan Fuller when the latter is ready; having them in coverage as frequently as the Falcons do is asking for and getting trouble, Bertrand in particular.
We have no idea when Billy Bowman Jr. is coming back, but this was the kind of effort from Dee Alford that makes it clear he won’t have trouble getting his job back. Alford has on balance been pretty good filling in, showing how much of last year can be blamed on Jimmy Lake and his scheme, but he’s not an elite nickel option by any stretch of the imagination. On Sunday, PFF “credited” him with a team-high 88 yards allowed on three grabs, highlighting the downfield struggles. Alford can bounce back, of course, but he’s got a tough matchup against the Colts next week if he’s still out there.
Special teams
KhaDarel Hodge: 22
Josh Woods: 22
DeAngelo Malone: 22
DeMarcco Hellams: 22
Mike Ford: 22
Teagan Quitoriano: 19
Feleipe Franks: 18
Natrone Brooks: 17
JD Bertrand: 16
Bradley Pinion: 14
Ronnie Harrison: 11
Charlie Woerner: 9
Liam McCullough: 9
Jamal Agnew: 8
Brandon Dorlus: 7
Tyler Allgeier: 5
Jake Matthews: 4
Elijah Wilkinson: 4
Kyle HintoN: 4
Chris Lindstrom: 4
Jovaughn Gwyn: 4
David Onyemata: 4
Ruke Orhorhoro: 4
Sam Roberts: 4
Jack Nelson: 4
Parker Romo: 4
Dee Alford: 3
The Falcons now have to make another decision on another kicker. Parker Romo is 21st in the NFL in field goal percentage, 25th in extra point percentage after that ugly, costly miss yesterday, and does not handle kickoffs. He has missed from 30, 40, and 50 yards once thus far and has had a couple of close calls, all indicators that continuing to entrust him with kicking duties will lead to further crises. The problem for Atlanta is the dearth of options out there—they clearly feel like Lenny Krieg is not ready, fellow practice squad option Ben Sauls was inconsistent in college, and guys like Austin Seibert and Matt Prater have only been slightly better options than Romo in the last year—but at some point things will break. I miss the days of stability at the position.
Otherwise, special teams was reasonably crisp, with a couple of really nice Bradley Pinion punts, good tackling outside of a Mike Ford miss, and solid returns. We’ll take progress there.
