The pressure was finally on an opposing team.
The Atlanta Falcons are off to their best start since 2016 and have won five of their last six games. The defense took major strides in the pass rush department Sunday, so it’s no surprise that multiple defenders have cracked this week’s list.
Atlanta’s offense showed that it has two WR1-caliber receivers that it can feature on its way to a productive outing. Most of the concerns still exist on the defensive side of the ball, but there’s room for improvement on special teams as well. Here is Week 9’s 3 up and 3 down.
Up
Kaden Elliss
Kaden Elliss had his best game of the year. Elliss came into the game leading the team in pressures, and he had the most in this game. He also had a team-high three QB hits to accompany his one sack.
The inside linebacker was making plays all over the field, sniffing out fourth down plays, showing up in pass coverage, and turning in a high-effort performance against the run. Jimmy Lake was moving Elliss all over the field, giving the linebacker more opportunities to rush the passer. With Troy Andersen’s return on the horizon, Elliss might finally be able to slide into the role many had envisioned for him since his initial signing in 2023.
Darnell Mooney
Mooney proved he could be the go-to guy even if Drake London isn’t on the field to garner the defense’s attention. Mooney hauled in 5/9 targets for 88 yards and a touchdown. Mooney also had the longest play of the game with a 36-yard reception.
The former Bear has been everything the team could have hoped for and more. The Chicago Bears elected to let Mooney walk this offseason, and the Falcons gave him $11M guaranteed with a base salary of $21.9M over three years. The Bears then traded a fourth to the Chargers for the rights to Keenan Allen, whose deal had $18M in base salary and $5M in guarantees remaining for a one-year rental.
Mooney could be the best value signing of Terry Fontenot’s career when it’s all said and done. The receiver’s performance as a Falcon has been sensational, and it shows just how important situation and quarterback play are for skill positions.
Arnold Ebiketie
Ebiketie has been applying pressure for weeks, but he finally got home against the Cowboys, recording his first sack of the season and tying Kaden Elliss with three QB hits. The Falcons have desperately needed improved play from the outside linebackers. After stringing together some positive outings, Ebiketie put everything together and had his most complete game of the season.
The young pass rusher should continue to get increased snap counts and has earned the right to rush the quarterback any chance the team gets. If Ebiketie can continue to stack performances like this together, many of the issues on the defensive side of the ball will begin to fade away.
Down
David Onyemata
One of the standouts from 2023 has struggled to make much of an impact in 2024. Quite a few defenders stood up and contributed to the pass rush, but Onyemata was not one of them. This has been an issue all season. The interior play hasn’t been up to the standard the group set a year ago, and Oneymata was one of the players that rose it to those heights.
The Falcons will continue to lean on the veteran; they don’t have any other options right now, with Ruke Orhorhoro on injured reserve and Brandon Dorlus under construction. Hopefully, the veteran can work through this slump and get back to the level of play he was at a year ago; if not, he’s nothing more than a warm body on the field.
Nate Landman
The inside linebacker doesn’t look like an NFL athlete on the field. Slow in coverage and a lack of lateral speed and agility made Landman an easy target for the Dallas offense. The Cowboys picked on Landman constantly as tight ends, and running backs got whatever they wanted as receivers. Elliss was used more as a blitzer today, leaving Landman on spy duty and showing fans why he hasn’t been asked to do much of that this season.
Prescott could escape repeatedly as Landman proved to be no threat to contain him. Troy Andersen’s speed has been a significant loss in these areas. Hopefully, this is the week we finally see Andersen return so that Landman can get back to playing between the guards and moving in a forward direction.
Avery Williams
The third-year return man has struggled this year, most surprisingly on punt returns. Williams has let the ball bounce past him without attempting a catch multiple times this year, putting the Falcons offense in a tough spot on numerous occasions. Even when Williams does field the ball, he almost always calls for a fair catch and has yet to be the weapon he was as a returner two years ago before suffering an ACL (knee) injury. Williams did have a decent return on kickoff today, which brought the ball near 35, but that play is an outlier in a season that has been mostly disappointing.
Atlanta continues to win and have twice the number of Ws as they do Ls after nine games. There’s no reason to be complacent, but the Falcons and their fans should feel good about where the team currently stands. Now, they turn their attention to the second hate week of the season as they look to stomp out the New Orleans aints.