Falcons Stock Report: Michael Penix Up, Raheem Morris Down at Commanders

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix and head coach Raheem Morris are trending in different directions after Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders.

Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris has been criticized for several clock management decisions vs. the Washington Commanders. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

LANDOVER, Md. — The Atlanta Falcons’ 30-24 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night featured an array of highs, lows and I-don’t-knows.

But the Falcons’ knew this much walking out of Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.: their playoff hopes took a substantial hit Sunday.

Atlanta, which entered the day controlling its own destiny to make the postseason for the first time since 2017, now finds itself needing to take care of business in Week 18 while getting help from the archrival New Orleans Saints, who play the division-leading Tampa Bah Buccaneers.

From a day in which rain fell before and hearts broke after, here’s who’s rising and falling from perhaps Atlanta’s most consequential loss this season.

Stock Up: 

WR Drake London

There’s an age-old adage that big time players make big time plays in big time moments. London made many of them Sunday night.

Perhaps the shining point in his seven-catch, 106-yard performance was a 31-yard grab on fourth-and-11 to extend the Falcons’ game-tying drive at the end of regulation. Time and again, London beat one-on-one coverage.

And he put himself above 1,000 receiving yards this season in the process, the first time in his three-year career.

Pass Rush

The Falcons matched a season high with five sacks on Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, all from different players — outside linebackers Arnold Ebiketie and Matt Judon, defensive tackle David Onyemata, linebacker JD Bertrand and safety Jessie Bates III each had one apiece.

Atlanta, which had only 10 sacks through the season’s first 11 games, has now tallied 21 sacks in its last five contests. Atlanta has 31 sacks for the season, an impressive mark when considering that breaking 20 once seemed improbable.

The Falcons have at least three sacks in each of their past five games, their longest stretch in a single season since 1997 and the longest active streak in the NFL.

Michael Penix Jr.

For about 58 minutes, the Penix evaluation was headed a different direction. But there’s something to be said for a rookie quarterback who, in his second NFL start, leads a 12-play, 68-yard drive in just over three minutes to tie the game.

And that doesn’t do justice to Penix’s 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Pitts, which not only helped draw the score even but gave Penix his first professional score. It was a tight-window rocket on perhaps the biggest play of the 24-year-old’s career.

The Falcons should take solace in Penix’s late-game heroics. The No. 8 overall pick in April’s draft wasn’t quite as flawless as Raheem Morris thought he was in his first start against the New York Giants, but he wasn’t tested like this, either. Penix showed his wiring Sunday night, and it should leave Atlanta encouraged.

A.J. Terrell

Atlanta’s coaching staff showered Terrell with praise this week, noting he can shut down an entire side of the field and is capable of shadowing the opponents’ No. 1 receiver.

Terrell backed it up Sunday night. He coveted Washington’s star wideout, Terry McLaurin, on 32 of his 34 routes and allowed only one reception for five yards on seven targets, according to Next Gen Stats and AtlantaFalcons.com reporter Will McFadden.

An All-Pro in 2021, Terrell is playing at a similarly high level this season.

Stock Down:

Head coach Raheem Morris

The timeout debacle that will be talked about at water coolers across the country Monday morning. The Falcons, after receiver Darnell Mooney caught a 25-yard pass to kickstart a potential game-winning drive, didn’t call a timeout with 34 seconds remaining.

Atlanta had two timeouts. It didn’t snap the ball again until the 17-second mark. The Falcons ultimately settled for a 56-yard field goal try from kicker Riley Patterson which ultimately fell a few yards short of the goal post.

Afterward, Morris said he “probably could have” called a timeout after Mooney’s play. He didn’t second-guess as much on his end-of-first-half clock management, when Atlanta settled for another field goal after not taking timeouts during a promising downfield march.

Morris often says the head coach and quarterback get the brunt of the blame and the top of the praise. In this case, he, in particular, will be a popular talking point regarding the idea to not call timeout — twice.

Playoff hopes

The Falcons haven’t won the NFC South since 2016 and haven’t been to the playoffs since 2017. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, neither was going to change for Atlanta on Sunday night.

But the Falcons certainly had a chance to better their odds for next week.

Atlanta controlled its own destiny — win its final two games and snap both spells from above. Instead, Sunday went as poorly as it could’ve.

The Falcons now have to beat the Panthers (4-12) on Sunday, and hope the New Orleans Saints (5-11) upset the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Atlanta will be favored to do its part. New Orleans won’t be.

And so, the Falcons’ postseason probability feels all but gone. It’s difficult, in such a moment, not to think back on training camp, when general manager Terry Fontenot told fans at Seckinger High School on July 27 that Atlanta would host a playoff game. Turns out, it needs significant help to play beyond the regular season.

Dee Alford

After a difficult outing against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 8 where he was the nearest defender on some four touchdowns, Alford, the Falcons’ nickel corner, performed well the last two weeks. The same can’t be said for Sunday night.

Most will point to the final play of the game, when Commanders tight end Zach Ertz beat him for a touchdown. But he also missed a tackle in space against Daniels on a second-and-15 midway through the third quarter, one in which he had a legitimate shot at Daniels but couldn’t finish. Alford’s body language reflected a frustrated yell thereafter.

Alford has ridden the highs and lows of Atlanta’s 2024 season, and one of the team’s biggest lows just so happened to coincide with one of his, too.

The kicking game

This loss — one way or another — isn’t on Falcons kicker Riley Patterson, who’s in his second game in the role after starter Younghoe Koo was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a hip injury.

Patterson’s missed 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation is an easy point of discussion, but his NFL career long entering Sunday was 53 yards. His kick, which was straight on, unsurprisingly fell a few yards short.

However, it’s the broader continuation of a year in which Atlanta’s kicking game, which has routinely been amongst the NFL’s best over the past decade, has struggled. Koo missed a league-high-tying nine field goals before his injury, a surprising stat for the former Pro Bowler, and Patterson missed a kick last week, too.

The Falcons will look back on the 2024 season with a handful of positions they’d prefer better play from, and kicker, in a surprising twist, is one of them.