3 up and 3 down: 5 Falcons make their debut

The Atlanta Falcons took down their rivals from New Orleans in a nerve-wracking fashion. The team turned to a familiar savior, and the dirty birds stole the win from a disheveled Saints team.

This week, five players make their debut on the 2024 3-up, 3-down series.

Three Up

Younghoe Koo

The MVP of the game was responsible for 14 points (four field goals, two extra points), including a new career-long 58-yard game-winning field goal. Koo knocked down a 53-yard field goal in the first half and is 3/3 from 50 this season, matching his season total of 50-yard makes from 2023. The Falcons offense couldn’t get in the endzone today, so as he has done many times before, Koo bailed them out.

The kicker is now 9/9 on the year and looking better than ever. Hopefully, the Falcons won’t have to lean on Koo this much again, but it’s good to know that they still can. Koo’s contract has been worth every penny, and I hope he gets a chance to kick in the playoffs to grow his Falcons legacy.

Troy Andersen

After the first few drives, the former second-round pick looked like he could’ve been in for another rough game, but after he caught Derek Carr’s tipped pass via Matthew Judon, the linebacker never looked back. Andersen was the best player on the defense yesterday, racking up 10 solo tackles, six assists, a tackle for loss, and a pass defended.

Atlanta finally saw the X-factor ability unlocked, and without it, there’s a good chance they leave that game 1-3. Andersen was playing with a new confidence level, and his blistering touchdown return was the catalyst. Andersen now needs to sustain this level of play, and when Nate Landman returns, the duo will be a lethal tandem, and Kaden Elliss can focus on getting after the quarterback.

Tyler Allgeier

The best backup running back in the league was the hot hand on the ground against New Orleans. Allgeier averaged 7.5 yards on eight carries and punished Saints defenders every time he touched the ball. The offense needed the extra boost, and Allgeier provided it, most notably on a third and nine, where Allgeier took a dump-off pass 13 yards.

The running back had a success rate of 75%, meaning 6/8 plays were positive EPA plays, showing just how efficient Allgeier was. The Falcons not only have the best safety duo in the league; they also have the best running back duo. Bijan still had a productive performance, but Allgeier was the difference maker.

Three Down

Kirk Cousins

Cousins left a lot of opportunities on the field Sunday and contributed to a rough day for the offense. CPOE stands for completion percentage over expected, a football metric that measures a quarterback’s accuracy by adjusting the completion percentage for the difficulty of the throw. The statistic considers factors like air yards, down, distance, whether the quarterback is under pressure and separation at the time of catch.

Kirk Cousins had a -6.8 CPOE, which is not good. The quarterback was given plenty of time despite the injuries to the offensive line, but his play was inconsistent and his accuracy was all over the place. Cousins has been missing open receivers at times during the opening slate, but Sunday felt like a new low. The quarterback needs to clean up his play because he’s dragging the rest of the offense down.

Kyle Pitts

Another game, another coach saying stats don’t matter. Unfortunately for the Falcons, there’s no running away from the questions surrounding the former number four overall pick. Once again, Pitts was a nonfactor in the game plan, ending the day with three targets and zero catches.

Players have to perform at some point, and Pitts hasn’t been a consistent performer. The tight end will look like a freak one minute, then trip over his feet the next. Routes don’t always look crisp; contested catches rarely feel like mismatches. It’s a frustrating situation for everyone involved, but the Falcons are committed to seeing it through.

Kentavius Street

The 2023 season was fun, but it’s time to move on. The Falcons were supposed to have one of the league’s deepest interior defensive line rooms, but they have been far from it, and no one has looked less like a plus depth piece than than Kentavius Street. Street is offering the Falcons defense nothing, and that’s not an exaggeration. The defensive tackle has zero pressures this year. It’s hard to rationalize how a player so unproductive could be a better option than the rookie defenders. If the rookies are so bad that this is the best option, then the Falcons brass should be embarrassed at how much they spent on those investments.

The Falcons got a big win with Troy Andersen’s development taking a big step in the right direction. However, Atlanta leaves the game with many unknowns and question marks looming over them, and they have only a few days to answer them before Thursday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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