Without Drake London in the lineup against the Saints, the Atlanta Falcons desperately needed Darnell Mooney to step up and lead the receiver room. And in Week 12, the 28-year-old admirably rose to the occasion by catching Atlanta's longest touchdown pass of the season in the 24-12 win.
In Kirk Cousins' first start since Michael Penix Jr.'s season-ending injury, he and Mooney connected three time for 74 yards and a touchdown that was capped off by a beautiful 49-yard score off play-action. And the strong showing saw OC Zac Robinsonadmit that Cousins has the better connection with Mooney.
It's hard to be surprised, as the Tulane product nearly went for 1,000 receiving yards last season while predominantly catching passes from the 37-year-old. However, once Penix took over in Week 16, Mooney's numbers started to drop off, and their limited offseason reps together certainly didn't help.
Zac Robinson subtly admits Michael Penix Jr. was holding the Falcons' offense back
Like everyone else, the second-year offensive coordinator knows the chemistry between Penix and Mooney got lost in translation. The veteran wideout missed all of training camp and the start of the season due to a broken collarbone, and once he was healthy, the franchise QB still favored London.
Prior to Week 12, the 24-year-old was nearly doubling the production that came from the rest of the receiver room, as his running mate was failing to provide the offense with the vertical spark he did last year. But once Cousins returned to the starting lineup, Mooney looked like his 2024 self once again.
Through 12 weeks, the 2020 fifth-round pick has caught just 19 passes for 298 yards and that aforementioned touchdown, but the arrow seems to finally be pointing up with him. It wasn't too long ago where Mooney was being regarded as a popular cut candidate due to the out in his contract.
Even with Cousins, the offense has still been disappointing, as Robinson's unit isn't even averaging 20 points per game yet. But the fact the 39-year-old has been insistent on running the pistol formation with Penix while allowing Captain Kirk to operate under center is textbook coaching malpractice.
The chemistry between Cousins and Mooney helped ignite the offense against the Saints, and now they'll have to do the same against the Jets, as London is unlikely to play. So they're going to need to continue their momentum against one of the league's worst defenses in order to save Robinson's job.