The Atlanta Falcons lost a low-scoring game to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening week of the 2024 NFL season. The team led 10-9 at halftime but got shut out by the Steelers defense in the second half of Sunday’s 18-10 loss. Quarterback Kirk Cousins had a rocky debut and the Falcons defense had some trouble slowing down quarterback Justin Fields.
With two tough games coming up against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta has some things to clean up this week. That was the message sent by Falcons head coach Raheem Morris following Sunday’s matchup.
“Obviously, disappointed in the results and you can’t expect any other thing when you go out there and you turn the ball over three times,” opened Morris. “You’ve got to go out there and capitalize when you have the chance and we were not able to do that.”
Cousins threw two interceptions in Week 1, plus the team had a poorly timed motion that caused a fumbled snap. Atlanta’s offense had three turnovers and the defense didn’t record a single takeaway. Morris still feels good about the team but wants to see better execution.
“We’ve got to go out and we gotta have the ability to execute against anybody. We’ve got to be able to execute the plays that we want to execute. When you play a team like this — the Pittsburgh Steelers — with the defense they have, you know it’s going to be a dirty game. But we had our opportunities.”
Reporters were curious about Cousins, who didn’t play his best day. The veteran quarterback passed for 155 yards, one touchdown and two turnovers. Cousins pressed in the pocket at times and failed to execute in the game’s key moments.
“For Kirk, we know who he is as a player — we know he has to play better,” said Morris. “There’s no doubt about that. I look forward to him doing that. He’s played in the league for a long time. I look forward to him bouncing back from a rough game and a rough outing. I’m not overly concerned with that.”
Watch Morris’ full postgame press conference, as shared by the team’s YouTube channel below:
https://www.youtube.com/live/Rp-p5Qvnnho?
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