And maybe you’re thinking, “Look on the bright side. It can’t get worse.” And here’s where I say, “Sure it can. They’re the Falcons.”
They’ve lost four in a row. The quarterback on whom they lavished $180 million has no touchdown passes and eight interceptions over that stretch. They no longer lead their division. They’re no longer above .500.
Next comes an opponent that hasn’t won since Sept. 29 and whose quarterback – by default – figures to be the guy they dumped to make room for Kirk Cousins. That team’s best offensive player is Brock Bowers, the Georgia alum the Falcons could have drafted if they hadn’t taken a quarterback who hasn’t played a meaningful down.
The Falcons just lost to Cousins’ former team in a game staged at 1 p.m. on a Sunday. That was bad. They now have a chance to lose to the Raiders, Desmond Ridder’s latest employer, under the bright lights of Monday night. That’d be worse.
There’s a scene in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” where Mike Damone, Mr. Cool, arrives at school to find himself a pariah. “Woke up in a great mood,” he says, shaking his head. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”
The Falcons were 6-3, the NFC South theirs to lose. What the hell happened?
If you peer beyond the losing, you might – might, I said – see a way up from this latest oblivion. In the four losses, the Falcons have outgained their opponent three times. For both better and worse, Cousins is putting up numbers. For better: He’s second among NFL quarterbacks in yards passing. For worse: He’s first in interceptions.
The Falcons should – should, I say – win three of the next four. They play the Raiders, Giants and Panthers. Aggregate record of those three: 7-32. How did the Buccaneers reclaim first place in the South? By beating those three.
Like Tampa Bay, the Falcons will face only one plus-.500 team from here out. Should the Falcons, who have a Dec. 22 date in D.C. with Dan Quinn, go 3-1, and should the Bucs lose to the Chargers on Sunday and then stumble against somebody they shouldn’t, the Falcons will be division champs.
There’s your sliver of optimism. Here’s your heapin’ helpin’ of reality: The Falcons have become experts at finding ways to lose.
The season turned when Younghoe Koo made one of four field goal tries in New Orleans. After being overwhelmed in Denver, the Falcons held the Chargers to 187 yards but lost because Cousins threw four interceptions. In Minneapolis on Sunday, they gained 496 yards against a stellar defense. They had six plays that netted 20 or more yards. They punted once. They lost by 21 points.
The 2023 Falcons, mostly with Ridder as QB1, ranked 17th in yards per game. The 2024 Falcons are eighth. To suggest Cousins has been a dud ignores the evidence. But you don’t spend $180M on a big-time quarterback just to amass points in somebody’s fantasy league. You spend $180M because having a big-time QB is the best way to win in the actual NFL. In the actual NFL, the Falcons are 6-7.
Maybe Cousins isn’t quite as big-time as the Falcons believed. Maybe he’s not fully over the Achilles tear of last year. That said, there was no reason to believe he’d have 15 interceptions through 13 games. He’d thrown no more than 14 in any of his first 12 professional seasons.
If you rewatch the past four games and forget there’s a scoreboard, you’ll swear the Falcons were the better team in three of them. Trouble is, there’s a scoreboard. Trouble is, the Falcons keep failing in the biggest moments. Koo doinked a kick off an upright in NOLA. Cousins threw a pick-6 against the Chargers. Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled a kickoff in Minnesota.
This is a team going bad, which isn’t quite the same as being a bad team. It will take a mighty effort to correct a season gone so wrong so fast, but the schedule should help. If the Falcons can go 3-1, they’ll put pressure on Tampa Bay, which held a one-score lead over two-win Las Vegas at the two-minute warning Sunday. If they can go 3-1, they’ll have a chance.
Now watch them lose to the Raiders of Ridder.
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