There is no other way to frame it. The Atlanta Falcons are the single most inconsistent team in the NFL. Just a week after they beat the 6-0 San Francisco 49ers and looked primed to win the NFC South, they followed that up with perhaps the most deflating loss of the year.
In Week 8, the Falcons traveled to Tampa Bay to take on the rival Buccaneers, where Zac Robinson got better of his former team in his revenge game. His offense ran wild, as the pouring rain helped the Bucs do what they do best: pound the rock, and they rode that mantra to a dominant 16-0 victory.
The Bucs ran the ball 56 times for over 300 yards due to Bucky Irving and Ken Gainwell and only attempted three passes--yet Baker Mayfield didn't complete a pass. The last time a team won without completing a pass was when the Bills did so in 1974, the same year Happy Days first premiered.
On the Falcons' side, it was utter domination. Michael Penix Jr. threw four interceptions and frankly should've had a couple more, they couldn't run the football, and the gameplan was horrible. This team's stock couldn't be any lower, and we badly need to see a return to form--and fast--to prove the rain wasn't the reason for this lifeless performance.
As one would expect, Atlanta's been getting dunked on pretty harshly by the media this week, and Kevin Stefanski, Jeff Ulbrich, and Tommy Rees are all facing questions about who this team really is. And if they don't get things together, we might be forced to have some difficult conversations.
Now the Falcons are headed overseas to face off with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday morning in Madrid, and before then, let's go over all of the news surrounding this team in the lead-up to Week 9.
- The plan for James Pearce Jr.'s return and its effect
- Kevin Stefanski speaks on Michael Penix Jr.'s rough performance
- Quick Slants
The plan for James Pearce Jr.'s return and its effect
Thankfully, the Dirty Birds are getting a spark when they need it most after this brutal loss. Second-year pass-rusher James Pearce Jr. is finally eligible to return from his eight-game suspension he received after his February arrest, and the Falcons couldn't be getting him back at a better time.
Pearce's was activated from his suspension and returned to the active roster--where he is going to play Sunday. The difficult part is getting him up to speed since he hasn't appeared in a game since the preseason finale and has not been able to fully practice since the suspension was announced.
In his absence, Atlanta was still near the top of the NFL in both pressures and pressure rate with a defensive line that was being held together by duct tape. It was Cameron Thomas, Samson Ebukam, and Za'Darius Smith doing the heavy lifting off the edge plus Gervon Dexter Sr. and Brandon Dorlus on the interior, so it's good to be productive with a lack of star power, but his return should help elevate the whole unit. Hopefully he's able to build on his 10.5-sack season we saw as a rookie.
In correspondence, the Falcons reportedly released edge rushers Jared Ivey and Drake Jackson from the active roster. And since Ebukam is now on IR, that means that Pearce, Smith, Thomas, and Charles Snowden, will be the rotation of edge players on Sunday.
Kevin Stefanski speaks on Michael Penix Jr.'s rough performance
As I mentioned, Penix was awful in Tampa Bay. Just a week after he was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the 49ers, he turns around and throws four interceptions. And while the weather played a factor, it all can't be blamed on the weather as he had some truly bad reads--especially on the second interception from Alex Anzalone.
With that in mind, it'd be easy for the Falcons to lose a little bit of faith in their quarterback after a rough performance. However, while talking to reporters on Monday, Kevin Stefanski revealed that isn't going to be the case and they aren't worried about the interceptions that were thrown in Week 8.
"We're however many games into Mike this season, and he's done a very nice job taking care of the football," Stefanski said. Obviously, there are factors to all of those (interceptions)... BUt he'll learn from it. Again, tough conditions, but we all can be better from that outing."
I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but Stefanski is right. Penix entered Sunday having thrown just one interception, and that came on his opening drive against the Packers. He has taken good care of the football, but the combination of the weather and facing a tough Todd Bowles defense made life hard on him.
Let's be real here for a second. Do you really want the Falcons to bench him? Tua Tagovailoa and Andy Dalton are not better options, so you're better off sticking with him for the rest of the year at least--and Stefanski is right to not publicly besmirch Penix while still pushing him to get better.
Quick Slants
The Falcons are continuing to believe in Nick Folk
Speaking of continuing to believe in struggling players, Nick Folk is up there as well. He badly missed a 53-yarder on his only field goal attempt of the game, and when it came down to several other fourth-and-manageable situations, the Falcons opted to go for it, including a 4th-and-6 down six in the second quarter where Penix threw his third interceptions.
Whether it was the weather or his lack of reliability from long-range, it appeared that the Dirty Birds lost some level of faith in the 41-year-old kicker as it's clear that he isn't who he once was. But Stefanski confirmed on Monday that they remain confident in Folk's abilities to get the job done.
"Very confident in Nick's abilities," Stefanski said. "(We) won't think twice about putting him out there."
Compared to his comments about Penix, this one is bound to ruffle more feathers. Falcons fans have gotten frustrated with Folk all season, especially considering he's missed more field goals this season (4) than he has in each of the last three seasons combined (3). He was signed to provide stability to the kicking situation, but instead he's only provided even more instability.
Although this marked his first miss since Week 2, it's frustrating to have a kicker you can't trust consistently from 50+ yards, and it appears as though we'll have a new starting kicker next season
The injury bug is starting to pile up
The most unfortunate development from this news round-up has to do with injuries. Kevin Stefanski comfirmed on Monday that both Zachariah Branch and Samson Ebukam suffered hamstring injuries against the Bucs and would be out for the Week 9 clash with the Bengals, but it doesn't end there.
Since he re-aggravated the hamstring strain that held him out in Week 3 against the Packers, Ebukam was placed on injured reserve, which means he'll be out for a minimum of four games and is not eligible return until the Falcons' Week 14 matchup with the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 13.
According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, they signed EDGE Drake Jackson back to the practice squad and released OL Colby Sorsdal from the practice squad in correspondence while EDGE/LB Yasir Abdullah, who missed the last four games due to a hamstring injury, was designated to return from IR.
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