The Falcons were embarrassed in their 2024 debut. The Steelers didn’t score a single touchdown and seemingly won with ease.
There’s a lot of finger-pointing going around among fans. Kirk Cousins‘ health is a talking point as the veteran was clearly immobile in the pocket. The offensive game plan was horrific as the wonder boy Zac Robinson fell flat on his face. The new and improved pass rush was virtually non-existent for much of the afternoon.
However, the biggest talking point surrounded Raheem Morris’ decision to not play the Falcons starters in the preseason. Atlanta’s new head coach decided against playing starters to mitigate injuries, but it was clear the Falcons offense was rusty to begin the year.
Despite the piss poor effort from the home team, Raheem Morris is vehemently defending his decision to not play the starters, “about mitigating injuries.”
Raheem Morris at the podium, talking lack of snaps in the preseason game:
“I’m not concerned about that. Exhibitions are about mitigating injuries.” pic.twitter.com/eYPqDuoDHd
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) September 8, 2024
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t seems to be the Falcons issue right now. Had Raheem Morris started Kirk Cousins and the rest of the first-team offense during the preseason and a critical piece went down with a serious injury, we’d be having a much different conversation.
In that same breath, the Falcons clearly looked rusty. They looked like a team that had been put together over the offseason. A meshing period was always to be expected, but I don’t think anyone expected it to be that bad. That’s why Falcons fans are frustrated.
If the offense looked competent but just fell short in the final minute, that would be different. There were only a couple of drives where the Falcons offense felt like it was in a rhythm. The rest of the contest, Pittsburgh dominated Atlanta’s offense, especially in the second half.
Playing starters in the preseason will always be a divisive topic, and it’ll vary from coach to coach, but when you come out as flat as the Falcons did against the Steelers, fans have a right to be upset about the entire situation.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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