Sean Payton's Description of Falcons Weapons Paints Bleak Picture

The Atlanta Falcons will be a massive challenge for the Denver Broncos.

Oct 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1) reacts with quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) and wide receiver Drake London (5) after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Much has been made about the Denver Broncos' relative dearth of talent at the skill positions, especially entering the 2024 season. Even with a prolific rookie quarterback under center, the doubts about the Broncos' supporting cast around Bo Nix have been justified as the season has marched on.

The picture around Nix has improved incrementally, but the Broncos' passing offense has been the epitome of low-volume, as evidenced by the team's 27th-ranked pass ranking. Juxtaposed with the Atlanta Falcons' support system around Kirk Cousins, Denver's skill-position shortcomings are glaringly illustrated.

The Broncos will have their hands full on Sunday with the Falcons' top-three pass catchers. Darnell Mooney and Drake London have been dynamic at wide receiver, while tight end Kyle Pitts has been a deadly weapon in Cousins' arsenal. The Broncos will need a good game plan to limit this trio's explosive potential on Sunday.

“I think we all have been conditioned to a [No.] 1 and a [No.] 2. They’re both different types of receivers completely," Payton said of Mooney and London. "Then you deal with the tight end, and we haven’t even talked about the [running back]. So I think they’re different types of players."

The question is, how will the Broncos game plan against them? There's always the option of assigning Patrick Surtain II to one guy, and putting Riley Moss on the other, letting nickel Ja'Quan McMillian battle with Pitts with a little situational help over the top from a safety.

"I think that the trick is how you want to defend them," Payton said. "Are you putting Surtain one direction [and] Riley the other? All that goes into the game planning. They’re entirely different relative to their skill sets.”

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Both Mooney and London have been on Atlanta's practice report with injuries this week. Nursing a hip injury, London has been a full participant in both practices, while Mooney's Achilles has limited him. Cousins is also on this week's practice report, nursing an injury to this throwing shoulder and elbow.

Cousins is a lock to suit up, but he's dinged up. London will play. And barring an unforeseen catastrophic setback between now and Sunday, so will Mooney. The Broncos will have to be ready.

On the season, Mooney leads the Falcons with 684 receiving yards, followed closely by London's 649 yards. To put it in perspective, Courtland Sutton leads the Broncos with 569 receiving yards; Pitts is Atlanta's third-leading receiver with 485 receiving yards.

In other words, Sutton would be the No. 3 receiver in Atlanta. If that doesn't illustrate the catching up Denver has to do at the skill positions, I don't know what will. The only hope the Broncos have this year is that Nix's development will accelerate enough to raise the ships around him.

As Payton said; we've only covered the pass-catchers. Falcons running Bijan Robinson is having one heck of a season, with 748 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He's averaging 4.8 yards per tote, and his backup — Tyler Allgeier — has 41 more rushing yards (429) than Denver's leader, Javonte Williams (388).

You can see why Payton seems intent on vaulting rookie Audric Estime in the Broncos' starting lineup. Williams has way more carries than Allgeier, but his efficiency with those carries can't even be compared to the Falcons' RB2.

The Falcons boast the 12th-ranked rushing offense. And with Cousins playing pitch-and-catch with this trio of ballers, the Falcons rank No. 5 in passing.

“They’re running the ball extremely well. I think about 100-140 yards per game clip," Payton said of Atlanta. "Again the background is the running game. Some of it is coming from pistol, some of it under center. Kirk is getting rid of the ball on time... Relative to their offense, you’re getting kind of a [Sean] McVay disciple with the wide zone."

And if you let Robinson catch you slipping, he's happy to catch four or five passes out of the backfield, and gash your defense. His 41 receptions for 331 yards and a touchdown put him over 1,000 yards from scrimmage on the season. He's only a few scores away from double-digit touchdowns from scrimmage, too.

"He does a lot of things well," Payton said of Robinson. "He’s someone that can catch the ball out of the backfield if you’re not careful. He’s an extremely talented player.”

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has been lauded for his unit's phenomenal play this season. He'll have to dial up another masterpiece this week if the Broncos are going to snap their two-game losing streak.

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