{"id":549421,"date":"2025-11-24T02:39:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T02:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/549421\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T02:39:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T02:39:15","slug":"falcons-defense-passing-game-show-signs-of-life-against-lowly-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/549421\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons defense, passing game show signs of life against lowly Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Falcons<\/a> snapped their five-game losing streak in New Orleans<\/a>. Kirk Cousins is off to the kind of start he had hoped for, and this defense continues to get after the quarterback. Here\u2019s the Week 12 snap reactions.<\/p>\n

The Falcons still primarily operated out of shotgun and pistol formations before the game got out of hand, but the uptick in under center was notable. The loss of Drake London influenced some of this; the team ran the most 13 personnel since their game against Minnesota, but the other reason is, obviously, Kirk Cousins\u2019 comfort level with it.<\/p>\n

This goes back to a comment<\/a> I made earlier in the week: it would appear the Falcons tried to take a shortcut with Penix, prioritizing personal comfort over the offense\u2019s best interests.<\/p>\n

Today showed that the team doesn\u2019t need to be under center dominant; they just need to be willing to mix it into their normal routine. They forced the Saints to adjust their plan of attack, and it led to the best offensive performance in weeks. It was a mistake not to get Penix comfortable running 2-3 plays under center per drive, and now there are even more questions about the lack of under center when Kirk Cousins was the starter in 2024. This is a bad Saints team, so we mustn\u2019t get ahead of ourselves, but it looks like Zac Robinson\u2019s offense isn\u2019t dead yet.<\/p>\n

The rising star\u2019s return was felt immediately. The second level of the defense wasn\u2019t the weak point in the secondary, and while run defense still needs work, explosive plays were far more limited on the ground. Deablo<\/a> proved that even with only one working hand, he\u2019s better than any option the Falcons have behind him. If he can stay healthy for the remainder of the season, then this defense could carry this team to a few more wins.<\/p>\n

Zane Gonzalez has got the goods<\/p>\n

Zane Gonzalez has reminded me of how dark times have truly been for the Falcons kicking operation. Having someone who can make 56-yard field goals has changed how this offense can operate. They, of course, still had a time management issue that prevented them from using their new kicker, but hey, at least they trust him enough to line up for the kick in the first place.<\/p>\n

Special teams has been an eye sore this year, but the Falcons may have finally solved their kicking problem.<\/p>\n

Pass rush development continues<\/p>\n

The Falcons pass rush is no fluke, and it\u2019s being led by the team\u2019s most recent investments. James Pearce Jr has a sack in three straight games and posted the first multi-sack game of his career. Pearce terrorized the Saints battered line most of the afternoon, and he\u2019s taken a step every week. Jalon Walker, Ruke Orhorhoro, and Brandon Dorlus each logged a sack to bring the team\u2019s total to five for the afternoon.<\/p>\n

This was the vision Nate Ollie had coming into the season. The by-committee approach has yielded undeniable results, and if the Falcons were wrong for the aggressive moves they made to make this happen, then I don\u2019t want them to be right.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember the Saints stink<\/p>\n

This was not a good football team. Wins should always be celebrated, especially against that horrid franchise, but we can\u2019t lose context. Yes, the Falcons were injured, but this was a team they should\u2019ve handled easily, and they did. However, this Falcons team still got in its own way on multiple occasions, with drops, penalties, and clock-management issues. It was good to see them play a more complete game, but we shouldn\u2019t be making too many firm conclusions about what can\/will happen down the road, and hopefully, ownership isn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n

Could the Falcons go on a run that induces indigestion once the offseason is here? They\u2019re off to a great start if that\u2019s the plan. Future aside, it\u2019s been far too long since the Dirty Dirds have had a win, and that\u2019s why they play the games, so celebrate the day before worrying about what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Falcons snapped their five-game losing streak in New Orleans. Kirk Cousins is off to the kind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549422,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,79029,2554,224,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-549421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlanta-falcons-analysis","11":"tag-atlantafalcons","12":"tag-falcons","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115602362957050054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}