The Atlanta Falcons have been waiting to see Darnell Mooney's 2024 form in 2025, and he finally delivered at the most important time. In the Falcons' 24-10 road victory over the New Orleans Saints, the 28-year-old caught three passes for 74 yards and connected with Kirk Cousins on a beautiful 49-yard touchdown.
Over the last few weeks, fans have grown restless through Mooney's struggles with injuries and lack of chemistry with Michael Penix Jr., but his rapport with Cousins is far superior. Following the game, Raheem Morris was not surprised by his performance, saying he "came to life" on Sunday afternoon.
The coaching staff has remained steadfast in their belief in Mooney amid his rough start to the year, but he finally turned a corner in Week 12. With Drake London sidelined, the Dirty Birds desperately needed someone to step up in their receiver room, and finally provided the offense with the vertical spark it's been missing.
Raheem Morris says Darnell Mooney "came to life" with Kirk Cousins starting in Week 12
Entering the weekend, the Tulane product had caught just 16 passes for 224 yards after coming just short of 1,000 receiving yards last season. The majority of those yards came with Cousins starting, as Penix preferred London while the four-time Pro Bowler preferred to spread the ball around more.
However, this year has told a vastly different story. Things have gotten so bad that fans were calling for Mooney to be cut after learning that the injury he suffered in training camp was more severe than Morris let on—while the fact that he continued to play while hurt continued to raise red flags.
Moreover, London had nearly twice as many receiving yards as the rest of the receiver room entering Week 12, but the NFC South rivalry clash saw his running mate come to life in a massive way. With the 24-year-old sidelined, David Sills and Mooney were the ones who kept the passing game alive.
Questions have surfaced about the depth in Atlanta's receiver room, but Mooney finally put those doubts to rest. Even Sills impressed, but it was both puzzling and alarming to see Casey Washington be named a healthy scratch in Week 12 while the receiver room was dealing with enough turnover.
While Cousins managed to help the Falcons' offense shine in ways that Penix hasn't, he was helped a lot by the much-awaited emergence of one of his favorite targets. And Mooney's bounce-back campaign should have Morris and Zac Robinson feel vindicated in remaining loyal to him.