Falcons Stock Report: Risers, Fallers After Big Loss vs. Seahawks

From running back Bijan Robinson to quarterback Kirk Cousins, here's who's trending up -- and down -- after Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had three turnovers Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons (4-3) suffered a frustrating 34-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) on Sunday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Entering the Week 7 matchup, Atlanta had won each of its past three games while Seattle, after starting 3-0, had dropped three in a row.

But momentum proved futile, and the Seahawks bounced back in convincing fashion -- while the Falcons are left wondering why their recent run of form didn't show up Sunday.

Here's who's rising and falling on Atlanta's sideline after the defeat ...

Stock Up

RB Bijan Robinson

Seattle's run defense ranked in the bottom fourth league-wide before Sunday, and Robinson capitalized. The second-year pro rushed 21 times for 103 yards and a touchdown while adding three catches for 40 yards. His 143 yards from scrimmage accounted for 37% of Atlanta's 385-yard offensive total.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after the game he's a team-first individual, thus reducing the value he puts on statistics. But Robinson's backfield running back, Tyler Allgeier, was impressed by the moves Robinson made in space.

"He was going crazy," Allgeier said postgame. "It's a whole video game on Madden or NCAA with how elusive he is. But I thought he did really well."

DE Zach Harrison

After a strong finish to his rookie season in 2023 during which he tallied three sacks and four tackles for loss over his final three appearances, Harrison started slowly this year. He's added roughly 15 pounds and moved to the interior defensive line, a spot he lacked experienced playing.

Through the first six games, Harrison played just 75 snaps on defense, or 19% of the team's total. He registered eight tackles and no sacks, tackles for loss or pressures.

But on Sunday, Harrison had multiple pressures and a quarterback hit on Seahawks signal caller Geno Smith, though it was negated by an illegal use of hands to the face penalty on Falcons linebacker Nate Landman.

Still, Harrison was more disruptive against Carolina than he has been all season -- an encouraging development for a lackluster pass rush.

TE Kyle Pitts

Quietly in the midst of a three-week breakout, Pitts had another strong game Sunday. He caught three passes for 31 yards on Atlanta's first drive and finished the day with a team-high seven grabs for 65 yards. He was targeted nine times, which led all pass catchers.

The 24-year-old Pitts has turned a corner in October after a difficult four-game stretch to start the season. In Week 5, Pitts notched seven catches for 88 yards, and he followed with three receptions for 70 yards in Week 6.

Counting Sunday's performance against Seattle, Pitts has hauled in 17 passes for 223 yards over the past three games.

Stock Down

QB Kirk Cousins

When Cousins stepped to the podium postgame, his voice sounded hoarse and his nose appeared wounded -- and it was. It had been bloodied an hour prior after a hard fall on a 64-yard scoop-and-score fumble for Seattle.

Then, Cousins summarized his day.

"Tough day at the office, certainly," Cousins said. "Pro football has a way of testing you like that. I’ve got to play better and just kind of looking at how do we play better, how do we improve and put together a good week of practice and then try to play your best football you can play next Sunday. But tough day."

Cousins went 24-of-35 for 232 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions along with his fumble on the sack. His three giveaways came on back-to-back-to-back drives.

Atlanta's offense scored 100 points during its three-game winning streak, and strong play from Cousins was a key reason why. He'd be the first to say Sunday was far from his best performance.

Coaches Raheem Morris, Jimmy Lake

During his Fox halftime interview, Morris said the Falcons needed to wake up. During his opening statement in the press conference, he said similar.

"Came out flat," Morris said. "For whatever reason, they didn't play well."

Right or wrong, flatness reflects back on the coaching staff. Morris is known as a strong motivator. Sunday wasn't his best day.

The same is true for Lake, whose defense allowed three touchdowns in a four-drive stretch in the middle of the game when Atlanta's offense desperately needed a stop to keep its margin at a reasonable number.

The Falcons play a bend-but-don't-break style. On Sunday, they broke -- and Lake's defense once again failed to generate pressure.

Pass Rush

The Falcons have the NFL's worst pass rush on paper. They entered Sunday with five sacks, the lowest number in the league, and took down Smith just once. Outside linebacker James Smith-Williams recorded his first sack of the season, which put him in a tie for third best on the team and only a half-sack behind the team lead.

Atlanta hit Smith six times -- two apiece from Smith-Williams and linebacker Kaden Elliss and one from outside linebacker Demone Harris and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett -- but only finished once.

Morris knows the Falcons need to fix their pass rush. The question now becomes whether they have the plan -- and/or resources -- to do so.

"We’ve got to get the quarterback at a timely fashion," Morris said postgame. "We’ve got to get him on the ground when we send people. Can't let him scramble around [and] do some of those things. We’ve got to go back and find ways to fix them.

"We’ve got to fix some of those things, see what we can do to correct that. We're looking at it on tape."