This was one of the most uninspiring wins you’ll ever see. The Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders put on a show made for Fremont Street.
Zac Robinson did his best to make Kirk Cousins disappear, but even when held to a low pitch count of 17 passes, Cousins couldn’t help but make fans groan in pain on all but a few dropbacks.
Hereare the Week 15 Snap Reactions.
Falcons fans showed out
Yours truly was in attendance for this evening’s game, and I wasn’t alone. Falcons fans showed up to support the team, and the amount of red was noticeable. A-T-L chants even broke out after the defense forced a safety.
This fanbase catches a lot of flack from national media and others who believe they either don’t exist or aren’t supportive. I dare those commentators to watch seven years of Falcons-Raiders MNF games and see if they have the strength to keep showing up. While the team won, hardly any fans felt rewarded by the end of the game.
Special Teams (minus Koo) was ELECTRIC
KhaDarel Hodge IS THAT GUY! He deserves your Pro Bowl votes. Two blocked punts, a blocked kick, a coffin kick, and Avery Williams had one of his best return nights of the season. It was a fantastic night for special teams sickos like myself.
The group has been inconsistent all year, but they helped carry the team to a win tonight, and the timing couldn’t have been better. A conversation about Koo needs to be had, but the rest of the unit deserves major props for their performance.
The curious case of Younghoe Koo
What the hell was that…seriously, did we actually witness the team try and bait the opponent into a false start on a routine 54-yard field goal? Who do they think they are, David Copperfield!?
Koo should be on injured reserve if he can’t kick beyond 50, and he should not be used as a decoy for a lazy magic trick. How is the current management of Koo a winning strategy? It’s not. The Falcons have poorly managed injuries this year (Troy Andersen), and it’s hard to rationalize why they’ve continued to stick with Koo when something is clearly wrong.
There is a financial incentive to wait to cut the kicker until after the season, but that doesn’t mean the team is being forced into this. Atlanta inexplicably cut Riley Patterson a few weeks back, but Koo has looked like a shell of himself since.
The Falcons are out of excuses for Kirk Cousins
Raheem Morris finally acknowledged that Kirk Cousins’ play has to improve. Cousins was once again inaccurate, turnover-prone, and a statue in the pocket, and that’s because that’s who he is now. The Raiders are one of the worst teams in football, plus Maxx Crosby was absent, yet Atlanta couldn’t even get in the red zone.
Zac Robinson has gotten to the point where he has to hide the quarterback against a two-win team. You can’t scheme for that. Quarterbacks don’t get reps when they’re that bad; they get benched, but Cousins has “earned the right” to see this through.
The Falcons aren’t playing world-beaters, but all of their remaining opponents are far more formidable than the Raiders, and if that’s the best Kirk Cousins has got in a must-win game, then he’s earned the right to find a new employer unless, of course, Terry Fontenot agreed to a no-trade clause.
The Falcons couldn’t have left fans more upset after getting back to .500. The team was simply the beneficiary of a Desmond Ridder start, and they almost let that opportunity blow up in their face. No one wants to see their team lose, but getting handed a win isn’t much sport, either.
The Falcons are hoping this turns into the start of a four-game winning streak, but it felt more like a bad omen for fans.