The last year of the Falcons can best be described as an unorganized disaster. From the Bill Belichick fiasco to the signing of Kirk Cousins to their epic collapse down the stretch, the Falcons have done everything possible to embarrass themselves since the end of last season.
But while Kirk Cousins, Raheem Morris, and Terry Fontenot took up all of the headlines for most of the year, the Falcons kicking issues also played a pivotal role in the Falcons missing the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
After a fantastic start, Younghoe Koo began to get the yips and also suffered from some injury issues. Perhaps injuries affected his performance when he was active, but the reasoning for the missed kicks isn’t all that important. It’s the fact that they happened and that they cost the Falcons several wins.
At least four of the Falcons’ losses could have been wins had they not missed field goals. Most notably, Younghoe Koo missed three field goals in a three-point loss to the Saints, a loss that began the team’s downward spiral.
A couple of weeks later, the Falcons lost by four to the Chargers, a game in which Younghoe Koo missed another field goal on the opening drive that ended up changing the entire complexion of the game. Had he made it, Atlanta would have done several things differently and ultimately would have had a chance at a game-winning kick to end the game.
Following that contest, the Falcons moved Koo to the IR, which was probably long overdue. In his place, they turned to Riley Patterson, whose range was just 52 yards. I’m no kicking expert, but there are certainly a ton of kickers on the streets with much greater range, and it’s another decision that cost the Falcons a couple of wins.
Patterson would miss a 56-yard game-winning field goal against the Commanders in Week 17, which the Falcons would go on to lose in overtime. Then, he followed it up by missing a 52-yard field goal against the Panthers, a game they would also lose in overtime.
The Falcons mismanagement of the quarterback situation is what will be talked about most this offseason, but kicking is a detail that is often overlooked, yet so important to winning. Atlanta not only relied one Younghoe Koo for too long while he was clearly hampered by injury, but they also signed a kicker that had no business being in the NFL to replace him. Those two things cost the Falcons at least four games and are directly tied to Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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