Younghoe Koo cost the Atlanta Falcons a win in preseason slop fest

The story of the Atlanta Falcons 13-12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was kicker Younghoe Koo. Without any other options, the kicker was one of the few meaningful Falcons to take the field on Saturday against Baltimore.

There wasn't a hint at the struggles Koo would face early on with the kicker nailing a 54-yarder that helped ease concerns about his lack of range. This would be a short-lived victory, however, with Koo missing three straight kicks hooking each of them to the left.

All were within Koo's range and kicks that are typically automatic for a kicker of Koo's caliber in an extremely low-pressure situation. The misses have brought some obvious concern about whether or not things could be taking a bad turn for one of the best kickers in the league.

Despite the misses, Atlanta has every reason to trust Younghoe Koo will right the ship

Yes, the three missed kicks were alarming in the moment and remain worth noting. What keeps it from being a real concern is Koo's career and the fact he is one of the four most accurate kickers in league history. Three misses in a meaningless game won't change this.

Atlanta should only be concerned if the kicker missing bleeds into games that matter. His history and historical accuracy should be enough to wipe away any real panic that things are going sideways for the veteran.

With that said, it is still worth keeping a close eye on considering the frailty of the position. There is often no warning when things turn.

Koo's misses were among a short list of noteworthy moments in what was a prototypical ugly preseason game. Head coach Raheem Morris is making it very clear just how little value he puts on preseason reps and how the focus remains on having his starters ready for week one. Including a kicker who is going to need a bounce-back performance in the preseason finale to wipe away concerns.