Yes, I have snap counts. No, they’re not going to lift your spirits. Sorry.
There’s very little new to note here. The Falcons still run 11 personnel a little bit over half the time, which has David Sills on the field as the third receiver, and went back to playing Allgeier quite lightly after a successful week against the Colts for him. The personnel usage is not so much egregious as it is vaguely disappointing; the Falcons don’t have a ton of great options in their receiving corps but haven’t been able to overcome that by using Allgeier and their reserve tight ends more.
Injuries pressed Hinton, Cousins, and then Washington and Hodge into action, and most of them struggled. Cousins had another forgettable day, Hinton struggled a bit after a great Week 10 with two pressures allowed (tied for the team-high with a struggling Chris Lindstrom), and Hodge and Washington barely played. We’re gonna see a lot more about of Cousins, Washington, and Hodge going forward, though.
Penix, London, and Bijan were all great, but Penix and London exited with injuries and Penix may be out for the season. That’s not great.
The Falcons finally switched away from JD Bertrand to Ronnie Harrison entirely and the results were better, if still deeply uneven. Harrison allowed four catches on four targets for 34 yards and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus, and also was credited with four missed tackles. He also managed seven tackles, four run stops, and was a key player for Atlanta as they bottled up Rico Dowdle and Bryce Young on the ground. This team desperately needs Divine Deablo back, but there’s more upside with Harrison, at least.
Brooks was a disaster. He’s stood out in the summer, but has so many miscues as a returner and now as a cornerback that the Falcons probably will not be turning back to him in any meaningful roles a year from now. A week after Keith Taylor put together an impressive fill-in week, the Falcons choosing not to elevate him and only lightly use Cobee Bryant when he looked pretty good while Brooks imploded seems awfully weird. Brooks allowed a team-high 108 yards—Billy Bowman Jr. and Xavier Watts were just behind him with 85 yards each—and a touchdown, erasing the fine work he did on his two pass breakups. On coverage teams, against the run, and lightly used as a reserve in coverage, Brooks does have real value; it’s just that as a starter and as a returner, he’s stretched past his ability at this stage of his career.
Getting Kentavius Street on the roster and LaCale London back helped immensely against the run; the duo each had three stops and were an integral part of stonewalling Dowdle. It was a really good day from the entire defense against the run, but obviously Street in particular doesn’t offer the pass rush much. That showed up on Sunday in a way that makes it clear the Falcons will have to mix and match more on early downs and against certain opponents who love to pass.
Finally, Bryant did well enough that I think he should get a longer look, especially if Alford and Hughes are set to miss more time. He looked as physical as advertised and more disciplined than he did in our brief glimpses of him over the summer, and was very good in coverage against the big Panthers receivers. With Mike Hughes and Dee Alford seeing their contracts run out next year and an opening across from Terrell potentially on the table, evaluating Bryant to see if some of the traits the coaches loved can translate in a starting role feels like a priority.
After weeks of rolling disasters in this phase, the Falcons avoided them…except for one moment. Brooks has been an iffy returner all season, but his fumble on a ball he was carrying like a loaf of bread was a catastrophe. Only a heroic four down stop from the Falcons kept it from being an easy Panthers scoring drive, and I’m wondering if the Falcons might try other options back there going forward.
Bertrand was back to full time special teams work and came up with a tackle, and Atlanta’s core guys were all useful in coverage on Sunday. New addition Jammie Robinson appears to have been activated just for special teams and did solid work as a blocker and in coverage, as well; he may get another look this week versus the Saints.
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* [Atlanta Falcons game information](/atlanta-falcons-game-information)