On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Falcons had some injury reinforcements but they weren't enough to overcome a rough performance on both sides of the ball in a loss vs the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta got behind the eight ball early in this one, finding themselves trailing 10-0 and eventually making it close down the stretch but coming up just short.
A large reason why the Falcons weren't able to pull off the come from behind victory was the struggles of kicker Younghoe Koo, who had an electric start to the season–including knocking in a game winner vs the Saints several weeks ago–but has regressed significantly in recent weeks, going 1-4 on Sunday, one of which was blocked.
Koo also missed another kick from within 50 yards late in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game.
After the game, head coach Raheem Morris reiterated his confidence in the kicker despite his struggles, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in Younghoe. He had an off day,” said Morris. “Shooters shoot. He went out there and took his shots today and didn’t make them.”
Younghoe Koo has been mostly reliable throughout his tenure with the Falcons thus far, and Sunday was the first game of his career in which he missed three field goal attempts.
Can the Falcons get back on track?
It should be noted that Younghoe Koo was far from the only problem with the Falcons on Sunday afternoon in New Orleans.
Atlanta's offense was largely underwhelming throughout the afternoon, as Kirk Cousins struggled with efficiency and Atlanta got some crucial penalties that stalled chances to punch the ball into the end zone.
The defense got torched in the first half before stepping up and playing well in the second, but it wasn't enough to overcome the plethora of mistakes made throughout the game.
The Falcons now sit at 6-4 10 games into the season, and held onto their two game lead in the NFC South thanks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Still, Sunday was a perfect opportunity for the Falcons to create even more separation in the weeks before the Buccaneers' schedule lightens up, and they were unable to take advantage.
Up next for the Falcons is a road game vs the Denver Broncos in Week 11. That game is slated to kick off at 4:05 PM ET.
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