There were a lot of dissapointments around the NFL in Week 1. The Browns are wondering if Deshaun Watson is ever going to be the quarterback he was in Houston. The Bengals were the week’s largest favorites and lost outright, but the Falcons are right there among the most disappointing season debuts.
After investing $180 million in Kirk Cousins and Raheem Morris bringing the highly touted Zac Robinson with him to Atlanta, all the Falcons had to show for it was 10 points and 226 yards.
It was a pathetic display. Cousins threw two interceptions and was lucky it wasn’t three. The veteran contributed to another fumble lost, and it could’ve been more if T.J. Watt didn’t time the Falcons snap so well.
Robinson’s poor game planning led to practically zero production in the second half after the Steelers caught on to his tendencies as a play caller. The Falcons became predictable, and fans were left questioning whether Cousins is healthy or Robinson is that inept.
The good news is the Falcons new-look defense did their part, holding the Steelers to no touchdowns. They held Pittsburgh in check for most of the afternoon. When a club doesn’t surrernder a single score, generally they win the football game. Nobody should be blaming the Falcons defense.
It’s not going to get any easier for Raheem Morris’ team, though. They’ll travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in primetime on Monday Night Football. From the pair’s Week 1 performances, everyone believes the Eagles should dominate the Falcons.
Philly beat the Packers last Friday in Brazil, but if you watched the game, you’d know that Green Bay gave that game away. Moreover, the Falcons played as badly on offense as they could have against one of the best defenses in the league.
The NFL is weird. Just look at the Bengals, a Super Bowl contender, losing to the Patriots, who many believe will be picking in the top 10 come draft time. Any given Sunday is a saying for a reason. Writing Atlanta off is foolish. ESPN’s Dan Graziano dubbed the Falcons over the Eagles his favorite upset of Week 2.
