For much of the offseason, I dubbed this 2024 club Matt Ryan‘s Falcons because of the obvious offensive firepower and lack thereof on the defensive side of the ball.
That all changed a few weeks before the start of the season when Terry Fontenot signed Justin Simmons and traded for Matt Judon in a matter of 24 hours. It finally looked like the Falcons were going to have a defense that would be able to hold up its end of the bargain. We were wrong.
They rank 26th in scoring, 25th in total yards allowed per game, dead last in sacks and completion percentage, 30th in third-down percentage, 29th in drives ending in scores, 29th in passing touchdowns and yards per drive, and 28th in points per drive and yards after the catch.
The acquisitions of Judon and Simmons haven’t provided the returns the Falcons had hoped for, and it feels safe to say the club lost the Judon trade. The veteran fetched a third-round pick for the Patriots, and he’s done next to nothing in 11 games with the Falcons.
Judon posted 32 sacks in 37 games across three seasons in New England. This year, he has logged 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and seven pressures across 11 games. For comparison, in four games last season, the veteran put up 4.0 sacks, five tackles for loss, and 11 pressures.
He has just more than half the production in more than twice as many games. That could only be seen as a colossal failure up to this point. It doesn’t seem like it’ll suddenly turn around either.
The only way the Falcons come out of this and at least feel like they broke even would be for Matt Judon to come up big in a postseason contest. That feels like it’s creeping closer to an impossibility, too.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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