Tag: Atlanta Falcons

Why it’s still not Michael Penix Jr. time for the Falcons despite 2-game skid

No, the Falcons still aren’t turning to Michael Penix Jr.

The Atlanta Falcons have regressed to the mean in the last two weeks, suffering an unlucky loss to the New Orleans Saints and an absolute pummeling from the Denver Broncos.

This Falcons team was 6-3 until hitting this two-game skid, one that sends the team into its bye week with a 6-5 record, lots of questions to answer and plenty of injuries to mend before a Dec. 1 home stand against the red-hot Los Angeles Chargers.

Two things can be true about the Falcons right now: they are an improved group from the past six years that has promising young talent on both sides of the ball and a clear-cut plan at quarterback, and they’re not Super Bowl contenders right now.

Raheem Morris has done a really good job this season at building a seemingly strong culture and bringing in some impressive wins, and Zac Robinson has been a real find at offensive coordinator. However, this team still has plenty of flaws and probably won’t make it very far in the playoffs even if it gets there. That’s just how it usually goes in the first year of a new regime if you find some instant success.

Winning the NFC South is still very much on the table for the Falcons, as finishing with nine or 10 wins should do the job. Barring an absolute collapse after the bye, Atlanta should still be a feisty contender with plenty of talent on offense to win in shootouts and stifle lesser opponents.

While quarterback Kirk Cousins is basically still the version of himself from the Kevin O’Connell Minnesota Vikings days with even less mobility (some great games, some frustrating ones), don’t expect the Falcons to veer off their quarterback path and start rookie Michael Penix Jr. anytime soon. This was true after the team’s abysmal Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s still true after this two-game losing streak.

Sure, Penix came in to take relief snaps for Cousins in Sunday’s Broncos loss when it looked like the game was out of reach for Atlanta. Cousins didn’t play particularly well for the Falcons this past week, but he’s been very reliable overall for the franchise this season. Cousins also popped up on the injury report last week, hinting he might not have been 100-percent in Denver.

The Falcons have a ton of injuries, particularly on the already struggling defensive side of the ball. The team isn’t going to waltz to the playoffs this season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers getting wide receiver Mike Evans back eventually and the New Orleans Saints showing signs of life. However, both of those teams have losing records and the Falcons are 4-1 in the division. Tampa Bay and New Orleans both have a lot of ground to make up, particularly since Atlanta should still win games this season.

The Falcons aren’t benching one of the biggest reasons they’re still in first place in the NFC South and might just snap a six-season playoff drought. Penix is the future of this franchise, but two losses in consecutive weeks won’t and shouldn’t send major alarms throughout Flowery Branch. Cousins is still playing at a relatively high level for his age and physical limitations.

Atlanta’s defense is not good and will probably hold it back if it does win the division and host a playoff game. The Falcons don’t have a pass rush, the run defense is poor and the secondary is inconsistent. The offense has weeks of genuine brilliance, but it also struggles when great defensive lines make Cousins uncomfortable and the run game slows down.

Even though this Falcons team has a fairly hard ceiling, its commendable floor is such that they should still be the favorites to win the NFC South. The day will come when the franchise throws Penix the keys, but that day will not come this season. Heck, it might not even come next season at this rate. Cousins is still playing like a franchise quarterback who can help the Falcons contend, and the team will most likely invest in its defense next offseason.

We’re not sure what happens in the future, but Atlanta is still in prime position to add at least one extra game to the 2024 schedule. Cousins gives it the most obvious path to get there.

Don’t overthink this; it’s not Penix time just yet.

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Broncos released frustrations from Chiefs game on Falcons

Being the next team on the Broncos’ schedule after the Chiefs loss was very bad news for the Falcons.

After suffering a heartbreaking 16-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week following a blocked field goal, the Denver Broncos were motivated to bounce back in a big way in Week 11. 

Unfortunately for the Atlanta Falcons, they were next on Denver’s schedule following the game in Kansas City.

The Broncos dominated the Falcons in a 38-6 victory on Sunday.

“That’s a thing that I was really most proud of and excited about was obviously the response coming off of a tough loss,” Denver coach Sean Payton said after the game.

It appeared that Broncos players stored up their emotions from the Chiefs loss and unleashed their frustrations against the Falcons.

“I think it started early in the week,” Payton said. “It still gets back to the players and the make-up. It gets back to the things we keep talking about: the grit, the toughness. This is a team that [is] different from a year ago and kind of has that. Their response was really good.”

Denver left tackle Garett Bolles said the team was “relentless” on Sunday.

“The more time we spend together, we’re just a tight-knit group of dudes,” Bolles said. “That’s what happens to teams with a tight group of dudes, we put points on the board, and we win games like that.”

Denver’s offense scored a season-high five touchdowns against Atlanta. The defense also dominated, holding the Falcons to just two field goals.

“It’s great because we’ve been talking about having our first complete football game,” wide receiver Troy Franklin said after the win. “A full four quarters where everybody’s playing, giving effort and executing. I think we did that today.”

Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix said the team was eager to bounce back after last week’s last-second loss at Arrowhead.

“It kind of felt like last week at the end of the game we could have lined the ball up and played another four-quarter game against another team,” Nix said. “We just wanted to go right back into the fire. It is hard when you lose a game like that. You feel like that one was stolen from us, but I want to get right back on the field. I want to go out there and play again. That is kind of how we felt this week.

“We had a great week of practice. The preparation was phenomenal. Offense, defense, special teams, we prepared like crazy. We fixed our mistakes that we wanted to fix. We came out and played with great effort, great intensity and great love for the guys around you. You can just see our sidelines and see everybody on the field. When another guy has success, you can see all the fun and enjoyment we get out of it.”

Following the big win, Denver is now 6-5 and currently on pace to make the NFL playoffs. Up next is a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) in Week 12.

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It’s a shame that Audric Estime’s crazy hurdle was called back

Broncos rookie RB Audric Estime had a great hurdle against the Falcons that was unfortunately negated by a Garett Bolles penalty.

In the third quarter of Sunday’s 38-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos rookie running back Audric Estime caught a pass from Bo Nix and went 10 yards in style, hurdling Falcons cornerback Clark Phillips to pick up a first down.

Here’s video of the play:

Unfortunately, the impressive hurdle was negated by an unnecessary roughness penalty called against Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles.

That means Estime’s beautiful run officially doesn’t count in the NFL’s record books. We’ll always have the video, though.

Estime also showed off his hurdling skills against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, but he fumbled on that play. Despite that fumble, coach Sean Payton has not discouraged Estime’s hurdling.

“I don’t coach against that,” Payton said in September. “I don’t ever want to take away from their instincts.”

So we could see more hurdles from Estime going forward. Through seven games this season, Estime has 173 yards from scrimmage on 38 touches.

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Justin Simmons gives his take on Broncos QB Bo Nix

Falcons safety Justin Simmons said Broncos quarterback Bo Nix “has gotten tremendously better each and every week.”

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix had a huge game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, completing 28-of-33 passes for 307 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 38-6 win.

After the game, Falcons safety Justin Simmons — a former Bronco — was asked for his thoughts on Nix.

“I said it in a podcast with Todd Davis leading up to the game — I think the progression from Bo watching tape, leading up to this game from week one to now Week 11 has gotten tremendously better each and every week,” Simmons said. “When you have a really good arm, and you trust your arm, it can be hard in the pocket not to take the deep shot.

“For the most part, we were taking away the deep plays that they wanted to run, and he was just being consistent and checking it down and letting his skill players do what they have done all year. Taking a check down and getting nine or 10 yards, moving the chains and running the ball really well. Just operating at a high level and defensively we couldn’t break that. You can’t expect to come into a hostile environment and expect to win with that defensive effort. It’s not nearly good enough for us.”

Simmons ended the game with five tackles, including one tackle behind the line. He embraced former teammates after the game and thanked Broncos fans for a warm welcome back to Denver. The Broncos never made the playoffs during Simmons’ eight years in Denver. Unfortunately for the safety, the Broncos now appear to be on track to make the postseason in their first year without Simmons.

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Javonte Williams had a great reaction to being pushed into end zone by teammates

“The cavalry came,” Broncos RB Javonte Williams said of being pushed into the end zone. He knew Quinn Meinerz was involved.

In the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams met Falcons safety Justin Simmons at about the five-yard line and was stood up.

Williams kept his legs moving and teammates soon arrived to help push him into the end zone for a touchdown.

“They just seen me and J-Sim one-on-one kind of at a stalemate and after that, the cavalry came,” Williams said of the play after the game.

Williams was picked up by his teammates and escorted into the end zone.

“I was in the air,” Williams said after the game. “That was all the o-line. From like the five-yard line on, that was all the o-line because my feet were in the air. So all the credit to them.”

After an eventual 38-6 victory, guard Quinn Meinerz detailed how pushing the pile dates back to his time in college.

“Pushing the pile, I’m going to give a shout-out to my offensive line coach at [Wisconsin-] Whitewater, Coach Brent Allen,” Meinerz said. “That was something that was instilled in us as Whitewater offensive linemen that — it was push the pile every time. Get to the pile, push the pile. We had tons of plays like that in college.”

Denver’s social media team had Williams break down the play after the game:

Williams knew Meinerz was involved during the play.

“Yeah, when my feet came out the ground and I was still moving, I said, it must be Quinn and somebody, because I know Quinn is going to be the one push,” Williams said.

Williams ended the day with nine carries for 59 yards and one touchdown. He also added four receptions for 28 yards as the Broncos improved to 6-5 with a convincing victory at home.

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Jonah Elliss celebrated his brother making a play for the other team

Jonah Elliss celebrated Kaden Elliss making a tackle vs. the Broncos on Sunday, then he wrote his brother a funny message after the game.

You don’t see this often.

After tackling Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims on punt coverage duty, Atlanta Falcons linebacker Kaden Davis received some love from a player on the opposite team on Sunday afternoon.

Jonah Elliss, Kaden’s brother who plays for the Broncos, jumped up on Kaden and gave him a celebratory smack on the helmet after the tackle. KCNC-TV cameras captured the moment showing both brothers with big smiles:

“Lots of giggles, man,” Kaden said after the game when asked about playing against his brother. “Lots of laughs. It was a dream come true to see him on the field and get to go out and block him a little bit or at least try to.”

Kaden ended the day with nine tackles, tied for second-most in the game. Jonah joined in the fun with a sack in the third quarter:

After the game, the brothers exchanged signed jerseys:

Kaden wrote a wholesome note you’d expect from a role model big brother: “Jonah, Goof! I couldn’t be more proud. I love you! All 4 the King! Kaden Elliss #55 John 3:16.”

Jonah’s message reflected a taunting younger brother: “Jonah Ellis #52, 1-0.”

Football is family.

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Broncos PFF grades: Best, worst players from win over Falcons

Nik Bonitto (90.0) was the Broncos’ best player vs. the Falcons, followed by Quinn Meinerz (92.1) and Bo Nix (83.3). View more PFF grades.

Following the Denver Broncos‘ 38-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Pro Football Focus has released grades for each player’s Week 11 performance.

PFF grades players on a 0 (worst) to 100 (best) scale. Check out the best and worst of Week 11 below.

Best Offensive Players 

  • G Quinn Meinerz: 92.1
  • QB Bo Nix: 83.3
  • OT Mike McGlinchey: 77.4
  • WR Devaughn Vele: 75.5
  • RB Javonte Williams: 73.8

Bo Nix had the best game of his career in a record-breaking performance. Denver has also found creative ways to get WR Marvin Mims (73.2) involved, and he ended the day with the sixth-best grade on offense.

Best Defensive Players 

  • OLB Nik Bonitto: 90.0
  • DL John Franklin-Myers: 77.4
  • DB Devon Key: 75.3
  • CB Pat Surtain: 70.1
  • DL Zach Allen: 65.6

Nik Bonitto has now topped his 2023 sack total and he’s just one sack away from the first double-digit sack season of his career. Bonitto’s nine sacks are tied for second-most in the NFL this season.

Worst Offensive Players 

  • G Ben Powers: 51.1
  • RB Jaleel McLaughlin: 54.6
  • C Luke Wattenberg: 59.0
  • TE Adam Trautman: 59.0
  • TE Lucas Krull: 59.3

Tight end needs to be a priority position for the Broncos in the offseason. Tyler Warren would be a dream draft target.

Worst Defensive Players 

  • DL Jordan Jackson: 29.5
  • LB Levelle Bailey: 41.9
  • DL Malcolm Roach: 45.7
  • OLB Jonathon Cooper: 46.3
  • CB Riley Moss: 48.2

The Cooper and Moss grades seem a bit harsh.

Special Teams 

  • ST Devon Key: 86.2
  • LS Mitchell Fraboni: 77.8
  • R Marvin Mims: 61.3
  • K Wil Lutz: 68.0 (FG) 55.2 (KO)
  • P Riley Dixon: 55.9

You can view grades for every player on the paid version of PFF’s website.

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Broncos players lined up to hug Justin Simmons after beating Falcons

Broncos players lined up to hug Justin Simmons after beating the Falcons on Sunday. Simmons also thanked fans after the game.

After the Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons in a blowout 38-6 win over Sunday, safety Justin Simmons exchanged post-game hugs with many of his former teammates.

Romi Bean of KCNC-TV shared a 30-second video on Twitter/X showing Broncos players lining up to embrace Simmons. The video shows kicker Wil Lutz, running back Javonte Williams, cornerback Riley Moss (who Simmons called “White Lightning”), safety Devon Key and wide receiver Marvin Mims exchanging hugs after the game.

Simmons, 30, played for the Broncos from 2016-2023 before being cut earlier this year. Ahead of Sunday’s game, Simmons dropped a f-bomb on his former team during a pre-game speech. The safety probably didn’t expect cameras to pick up the audio of that pre-game huddle.

After the game, Simmons sang a different tune.

“It was emotional,” Simmons said of returning to Denver. “Obviously, I played the last eight years here. A lot of good memories and it was bittersweet. First, I’m thankful for the warm embrace with the fans and (I) got to see some of my old teammates. It stinks being on the opposite side and coming away with the loss, a bad loss at that.

“We didn’t execute nearly well enough on defense to give us a chance to win this game. That’s a credit to their offense and how they were operating. It makes the whole thing bittersweet, but I did want to say thank you to the fans and the people that I got to see. The staff that I’ve known and gotten to know the previous eight years. I am super grateful and I’m also standing up here with a heavy heart of a really tough loss.”

Simmons ended the day with five tackles, including one tackle behind the line of scrimmage. He was on the opposite end of Javonte Williams’ touchdown run in the second quarter. “I was trying to tell them this boy run hard,” Simmons told Williams after the game.

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Lamar Jackson (!), Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins and the grossest NFL quarterbacks of Week 11

Week 11’s two most disappointing quarterbacks squared off in Pittsburgh and it was… kinda great?

Lamar Jackson does not enjoy facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He may get excited for it. He may fully understand the gravity of one of the game’s best rivalries. But there’s no team in the NFL he’s been worse against. His 5:8 touchdown:interception ratio and 66.7 passer rating are both career worsts against any opponent he’s faced as a pro.

That held true in Week 11 when he traveled to the former Heinz Field for a familiar struggle. Jackson had one of his worst performances of the season Sunday. Was he the week’s most disappointing quarterback?

Fortunately, we’ve got a metric that can help figure that out.

Using the advanced stat expected points added (EPA) can gauge how much a quarterback brings to the table compared to a typical player. By comparing each passer’s Week 11 EPA against their 2024 average to date we get a better picture of just how frustrating their performances were. And we can find both of those thanks to The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin and his incredibly useful stats sites RBSDM.com and HabitatRing.com.

This is a metric that gauges disappointment based on what we’d typically expect. Will Levis had a negative EPA in Week 11 while losing to the Minnesota Vikings, but he pretty much always has a negative EPA, so he missed the list. Who was the worst? There were several candidates but only one man can truly call himself the grossest quarterback of Week 11.

Please bear with me for any Twitter embed issues. Our editing software has become a whole problem on that front the past few weeks. Rest assured, if there’s a play alluded to in the text it’s worth clicking through to see if it didn’t make it into the article itself.

5. Mac Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars

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2024 expected points added (EPA) per game: -7.7

Week 11 EPA: -11

Difference: 3.3 points worse

via habitatring.com
I’m beginning to think Bill Belichick wasn’t Mac’s problem.

4. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

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2024 expected points added (EPA) per game: 6.1

Week 11 EPA: 0.1

Difference: 6.0 points worse

Daniels was once again fine — his performance against the Philadelphia Eagles could have even been encouraging for a typical rookie quarterback. But that’s not what Daniels is; he’s an immediate star who put up MVP caliber numbers his first half-season in the NFL.

On Thursday, he was stymied by an Eagles defense that his evolving into a terrifying presence. Since its Week 5 bye, Philadelphia has only allowed more than 20 points once. Their -0.235 EPA allowed per play over that stretch is best in the league.

That doesn’t explain this interception, however.

With Terry McLaurin bracketed, Daniels only threw four passes that traveled more than 10 yards downfield in Week 11. He completed as many to Reed Blankenship as his own teammates.

3. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons

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2024 expected points added (EPA) per game: 2.7

Week 11 EPA: -6.8

Difference: 9.5 points worse

For the second straight game, Cousins was kept out of the end zone and threw an interception. That was a difference maker in a close loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. But in Week 11 he got boat raced by Bo Nix, which feels so, so much worse.

Cousins struggled against a top three passing defense that’s getting an All-Pro season from Patrick Surtain II and a Pro Bowl-ish emergence from Riley Moss. Together, they limited Atlanta’s top downfield targets — Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts — to six catches and 97 yards on 14 targets. Half of his 18 completions came within one yard of the line of scrimmage.

2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

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2024 expected points added (EPA) per game: 11.3

Week 11 EPA: 0

Difference: 11.3 points worse

Well, that’s not going to help Jackson’s back-to-back MVP argument. The dynamic dual-threat quarterback was capably wrangled by one of the defenses that knows him best. The Pittsburgh Steelers limited him to 253 total yards and, impressively, a sub-50 percent completion rate at Acrisure Stadium.

Granted, that wasn’t entirely his fault:

Still, this was a departure from the dynamic downfield passer who’d been able to hit his targets in stride and lead wideouts to big gains after the catch. He threw seven deep balls and only one was caught — and that was by Steelers rookie Payton Wilson in an absurd play.

This led to an overall neutral performance. Jackson, statistically, didn’t add anything to the Ravens’ offense. He didn’t take anything away, either. That doesn’t make him the worst quarterback of Week 11, but it does represent a disappointing performance from the MVP front runner.

1. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

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2024 expected points added (EPA) per game: 4.5

Week 11 EPA: -13.7

Difference: 18.2 points worse

Well, this is unusual. The grossest quarterback of the week faced off with the runner-up and still managed to escape with a win. Even after he did this!

Wilson had his typical moon ball success with George Pickens for a 37-yard gain, but was otherwise short on explosive plays. He averaged just 4.1 yards per dropback, factoring in a single rushing yard on four attempts and four sacks taken.

Wilson was pressured significantly less often than Jackson (29 percent to Jackson’s 43 percent) but still managed to find trouble. This was a throwback to the Broncos version of the Pro Bowl quarterback. Pittsburgh won regardless because there’s no franchise in the league better suited to survive mediocre passing. Could this be an omen of things to come?

Michael Penix Jr. sees first regular season action amid Falcons blowout loss to Broncos

Michael Penix Jr. sees first regular season action amid Falcons blowout loss to Broncos

It was one of the more unexpected results of the week 11 slate of games as the Denver Broncos absolutely throttled a talented Atlanta Falcons team to the tune of 38-6. Given the state of the game, Atlanta decided to give their rookie quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. some live reps as the game was clearly out of hand.

 

Seeing it was late into the contest, fans caught only a glimpse of their future franchise quarterback, but what was shown was a bit of what everyone saw during Penix’s time in Washington in his explosive arm talent. Ultimately Penix completed 2 of his 4 attempted passes for 24 yards in the closing minutes of the game.

The real question in the midst of this rookie sighting is when fans might see Penix again. The Falcons were not that long ago clear favorites to win the NFC South behind veteran Kirk Cousins, but as the losses begin to pile up in the trainwreck style they have in the last two weeks, one has to wonder if the Falcons may want to see what Penix is capable of with the talent surrounding him. It’s unlikely a swap will happen immediately, but one or two more losses on the record are bound to create a fury of questions and force the hand of the coaching staff to pull the trigger on their first-round quarterback.