It’s not Matt Bryant’s fault the Atlanta Falcons lost Sunday

Matt Bryant’s missed PAT to tie the game in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals was brutal, but it was not the reason the Atlanta Falcons lost the game.

It is unfair to blame the loss Sunday on Matt Bryant. Sure, his kick would have tied the game, but this season the Atlanta Falcons are consistently getting behind early, having to claw their way back into games because of slow starts.

The defense has also been atrocious this season, with the last two weeks hitting an all-time low. In the last two games against the Houston Texans and the Cardinals, the defense has given up 87 points and 1,034 yards of offense. When the defense is giving up 31 points per game, it is hard to win games. Bryant missing an extra point is not what cost the Atlanta Falcons a possible victory, it is the defense consistently looking lost and leaving guys wide open that cost them the game.

There is no excuse for a former pro bowl running back like David Johnson, who is known for his catching ability, to be given a 40-yard cushion before anyone even gets close to tackling him. It also doesn’t help when the defense gives up points on the Cardinal’s first five drives of the game.

This team has so many issues that a missed kick from Bryant, who has made kick after kick over his career, should be the least of their problems.

I’m sure there are fans out there that blame Bryant for the loss, but they shouldn’t. He has meant so much to this team and city and if his expressions of sadness and despair on the sideline Sunday after the missed kick tell us anything, it is that he is one of the few players on the field every week that still seems to care about winning.